Google’s annual Android updates almost always include some features that manufacturers have already implemented in their own devices’ software. Some recent examples include screen recording and dark mode scheduled on Android 11, and now the next update to Android 12 is set to add another long-awaited feature: one-handed mode.
If you’re not familiar with one-handed mode, it’s a feature on some Android skins (like Samsung’s One UI) that reduces the screen to a corner of the device. This allows you to more easily reach every corner of the screen – something that was lost during the rise of giant phones in recent years.
One-handed mode in One UI 3.0
XDA Developers reports that Google is developing a one-way mode in the code repositories for AOSP (Android’s open source code base). The exact details of the implementation are not yet clear, but Google’s current code shrinks the screen to 40% of its normal size and can be activated using gestures or the three-button navigation bar.
At the moment, it is also unclear whether one-handed mode will be visible in settings for all devices, or whether it will be up to device manufacturers to decide (such as the desktop mode on Android 10).
