Most of us live on the edge and clutch our iPhones with just one hand (which can be very stressful on the thumb, might I add). Turns out, Apple may have a fix up their sleeve. A new Apple patent describes a ‘One-Hand Mode’ for the iPhone that would make it much easier to use with a single finger.
Apple is developing a way to detect whether an iPhone is being held in your left or right hand. Once positioning is configured, your iPhone’s UI will automatically switch to one-handed mode. This may not be a problem for iPhone SE users, but not being able to comfortably hold the iPhone 6 Plus in one hand (unless you're Shaq) is a major downside. Icons and virtual buttons will simply shift over toward the hand being used if this technology is implemented.
The necessary motion, proximity and orientation sensors already exist on the iPhone 6s. The fingerprint sensor, for example, could detect which hand you're using based on each single finger’s fingerprint.
Apple already has a feature that gives iPhone 6s users a little thumb leeway. The iOS feature, called ‘Reachability’, allows users to double tap on the home button to bring all content down to the bottom half of the screen.
Since Apple already has the software capabilities, more ‘reachability’ features could be included in a future iOS update.
