How to make it easier to use your phone one-handed

2 months ago 17

There are going to beryllium times erstwhile you’ve lone got 1 manus escaped to usage your phone. You whitethorn beryllium walking the dog, carrying groceries, hanging connected to a subway pole, oregon you conscionable don’t person different manus available. But with conscionable astir each modern telephone sporting a surface astatine slightest six inches country to corner, utilizing 1 manus to enactment your telephone could beryllium a hard balancing act.

Luckily, some Android and iOS phones travel with integrated features to marque one-handed telephone usage little tricky. There are besides immoderate adjuvant options wrong idiosyncratic apps you tin crook to. 

Methods for Android phones

One-handed mode

Android has a dedicated one-handed mode that lets you shrink immoderate app down to the bottommost fractional of the surface to marque it easier to reach. The mode to alteration that mode tin beryllium somewhat different, depending connected the manufacturer.

  • From Settings connected a Pixel telephone (or astir different Android phones), spell to System > Gestures > One-handed mode and alteration the toggle switch.
  • From Settings connected a Samsung Galaxy phone, pat Advanced features > One-handed mode and alteration the toggle switch.

Either way, you tin past simply swipe down connected the surface to propulsion the apical fractional of an app into reach. Make definite you swipe down adjacent to the bottommost of the screen, arsenic otherwise, you’ll simply refresh the surface successful immoderate app you’re in. Tap anyplace supra the app to spell backmost to a full-screen view.

Mobile surface  headed “one-handed mode” with illustrated manus  holding telephone  and “Use one-handed mode” toggled connected  below.

Android comes with a dedicated one-handed mode.

Screenshot: Google

Google Docs connected  mobile surface  with keyboard astatine  bottommost  pushed toward the right.

You tin set the Gboard keyboard to beryllium much toward the broadside of the screen.

Screenshot: Google

Enable a one-handed keyboard

Whatever app you’re in, you tin marque definite Android’s default Gboard keyboard is easier to get to for 1 acceptable of fingers and a thumb. With the keyboard connected screen:

  • Tap the four-box icon supra the keyboard to the left.
  • Choose One-handed from the pop-up menu.

The keyboard past pushes up against 1 broadside of the screen. Tap the arrow fastener to power it to the different broadside oregon the grow fastener (four arrows) to spell backmost to normal. (You don’t get this connected the default Samsung keyboard connected Galaxy phones, but you tin ever install Gboard connected immoderate Android phone.)

Make homescreen apps easier to access

It helps if the app shortcuts you trust connected astir often are down towards the bottommost of your location screen, alternatively than up astatine the top. You tin signifier this manually, but connected Pixel phones you tin besides person a enactment of your most-used apps popular down to the bottom.

  • Open Settings past pat Apps > Default apps.
  • Tap the cogwheel icon adjacent to Pixel Launcher.
  • Tap Suggestions and alteration Suggestions connected Home screen.

Make browsing easier

If you’ve got a Samsung telephone and you usage the Samsung Internet Browser, you tin determination the web code and hunt barroom down to the bottommost of the surface arsenic well. (Weirdly enough, Chrome for Android doesn’t presently fto you bash this, though Chrome for iOS does — spell figure.) 

  • Tap the hamburger paper (bottom right) past Settings.
  • Choose Layout and menus.
  • Enable Show toolbar astatine bottom and Show code barroom astatine bottom.

(Note: Some Android phones volition not person the Show toolbar astatine bottom diagnostic listed.)

You tin find the aforesaid enactment wrong Firefox for Android: pat the 3 dots (top right), past Settings > Customize and take Bottom for the toolbar.

Methods for iPhones

If iOS is your mobile level of choice, you tin bash galore of the aforesaid tricks arsenic you tin connected Android.

One-handed mode

The one-handed mode that covers the full of iOS is called Reachability. You tin find it from Settings connected your iPhone:

  • Tap Accessibility > Touch.
  • Turn connected the Reachability toggle switch.

A downward swipe toward the bottommost of the surface volition past shrink down immoderate app oregon strategy paper you person connected screen, making it easier to get astatine with 1 hand. Tap the arrow astatine the apical of the model to spell backmost to normal.

Address barroom  leafage   showing apical  and bottommost  code  connected  pictures of phones.

You tin spot the code barroom astatine the bottommost successful Safari connected iOS.

Screenshot: Apple

List of interaction   features

The Reachability mode connected the iPhone helps with one-handed operation.

Screenshot: Apple

One-handed keyboard

The iOS keyboard has a one-handed mode arsenic well. With the keyboard connected screen:

  • Long -press connected the icon successful the little near country (it’ll amusement a globe oregon emoji symbol, depending connected the keyboards you’ve got installed).
  • Tap connected the near oregon close keyboard layout to pin the keyboard to that side.

You tin usage the achromatic arrow that fills the abstraction near by the keyboard to spell backmost to the mean layout again.

Make browsing easier

As mentioned above, Chrome for iOS lets you determination the code and hunt barroom down to the bottommost of the screen:

  • Tap the 3 dots (bottom right).
  • Choose Settings.
  • Tap Address bar, past (at the apical of the screen) Bottom.

This is the layout Safari for iOS uses by default. If it’s been changed for immoderate reason, you tin reset it via Safari successful iOS Settings, nether the Tabs heading.

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