adding phantom padding when setting fixed height

I have a very simple TextEditor in a SwiftUI Form to allow users to send feedback about the app.

I want to set a minHeight and maxHeight for the text field so that it's clear the user can enter multiple lines. However, I also want to prevent the editor from expanding indefinitely and making it hard to access other form fields or the submit button.

*Problem: The issue I'm facing is that after typing for a while (or reaching a certain input length), the UI starts behaving unexpectedly — it starts adding phantom whitespace (or padding) to the bottom of the field. This happens when testing in Preview, the Simulator, and on a real device.

Here’s the code for the TextEditor:

TextEditor(text: $description)
  .frame(minHeight: 200, maxHeight: 400)
  .disabled(processState.isRunning)
  .fixedSize(horizontal: false, vertical: true)
  .onChange(of: description) { _, newValue in
    if newValue.count > characterLimit {
      description = String(newValue.prefix(characterLimit))
    }
  }

What I've tried:

• Removing the .onChange logic to rule it out, but the issue persists.
• Tested across different platforms (Preview, Simulator, device), but I see the same behavior.

Has anyone encountered a similar issue with TextEditor in SwiftUI or have suggestions on how to fix or troubleshoot this?

Turns out it is an issue with embedding the TextEditor within a Form. I've logged a feedback (FB15475261) as there is no documentation stating this should not be used with a form.

I've been able to replicate it here (with the help of @Andrew_STOP_RU_WAR_IN_UA):

import SwiftUI

/// Please type in the TextEditor component and keep adding new lines into the field.
/// As you see once you hit around the 40th new line, it begins adding white space
/// or padding to the bottom of the TextEditor.
#Preview("TextEditor within Form") {
  NavigationStack {
    Form {
      TextEditorView()
    }
  }
}

/// Please type in the TextEditor component and keep adding new lines into the field.
/// As you see there is no phantom white spacing when you keep creating new lines.
#Preview("TextEditor not within Form") {
  VStack {
    TextEditorView()
  }
  .padding()
}


struct TextEditorView: View {
  @State private var description: String = ""
  private var characterLimit = 2000

  var body: some View {
    Section {
      TextEditor(text: $description)
        .frame(minHeight: 200, maxHeight: 400)
        .fixedSize(horizontal: false, vertical: true)
        .onChange(of: description) { _, newValue in
          if newValue.count > characterLimit {
            description = String(newValue.prefix(characterLimit))
          }
        }
      } header: {
        HStack {
          Text("Description")
          Spacer()
          Text("\(description.count) / \(characterLimit)")
            .font(.caption2)
        }
     }
  }
}