In recent years, phones have grown increasingly heavier and heavier, with the recent Galaxy S21 Ultra being a great example. To help make your oversized phone a little more manageable, Android 12 could feature a dedicated “one-handed mode” that reduces the phone’s screen content.
As the phones got bigger, several companies heard the complaint that it can be difficult to use a one-handed phone and approached the problem in their own ways. Many OEMs offer a way to shrink the phone’s screen to better accommodate one-handed use, usually by placing a smaller rectangle near the dominant hand. Samsung took it a step further by creating a user interface that puts most usable content on the screen at your thumb’s reach.
According to the information displayed by 9to5Google, Google is preparing a dedicated one-handed mode for Android that can debut with Android 12. To enter one-handed mode, you can use a gesture, such as swiping diagonally from the bottom corner.
Most variations of the one-handed mode for Android involved scaling the screen down both vertically and horizontally. Instead, it looks like Google may have something a little different in mind for Android 12 hand mode, just downsizing your phone vertically, giving it a stocky look. That said, individual phone manufacturers can customize this.
Interestingly, there must be some ways to get out of one-handed mode on Android 12. There are simpler ones, like a similar gesture of sliding diagonally or tapping off the reduced screen. You should also be able to set a timeout period, in which Android will automatically exit one-handed mode after a few seconds.
Optionally, one-handed mode should be able to exit when switching applications. In addition, it should pop out whenever you open the keyboard, which makes sense, as opening the keyboard reduces the screen upwards, while one-handed mode reduces it downwards.
Since Android 12 seems to be closer than ever, we may not have to wait long before getting your hands on one-handed mode. In the meantime, what apps and phones would you use with one hand mode? Let us know in the comments.
Dylan Roussel contributed to this article
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