What's the big deal with one-handed use?

[jljue]

So is the one handed person staying with the 5s? How about you?

I currently plan to stay with the 5s until it either dies (after AppleCare+ warranty expires) or someone else in my family with a 4S or 5 kills their phone and needs another phone. By then, I probably won't have a choice but to go with smaller of the two larger phones. Hopefully, that won't happen for at least another year.

As far as the one handed person, he won't have much of a choice but to upgrade until after the 5s is a little long in the tooth.

 

[WilliamG]

I understand sometimes you don't have that other hand available, but even for those times you can figit around to get done what you need to get done.

First *Spelling Police Warning!* - it's fidget, not figit.

Second, if you understand that sometimes you don't have that other hand available, why even reply? Let me give you a few examples of not being able to use two hands..

1.) Walking the dog on a leash.
2.) Grilling with an oven mitt on.

There's no question it's awkward with a 6 Plus, but then again - how could it not be? This shouldn't come as any surprise.

And yes, despite loving my 6 Plus, I miss being able to do some things I used to easily do one-handed.

 

[Atomic Walrus]

I need to keep in touch with my friends while I'm driving the bus full of orphaned special needs kids to their chemo and dialysis every morning, so a phone I can operate one-handed is really important to me.

...I do find one-handed use helpful in a lot of situations actually. Looking something up while writing is an example I can think of just from today. I'm not sure I'd really call it critical, but I've just gotten used to being able to access the device while I'm carrying something, doing something with my other hand, etc. I'm not really a texter, but I am a compulsive "I need to look that up" sort of person.

 

[Sparkeze]

I need to keep in touch with my friends while I'm driving the bus full of orphaned special needs kids to their chemo and dialysis every morning, so a phone I can operate one-handed is really important to me.

You're driving a bus full of orphaned special needs kids and on your phone?

 

[RickTaylor]

I don't particularly care about one handed use, but I like to my phone to be compact and out of the way. I have a Moto X, and with it's curved back it feels perfect in my hand.

I have a retina iPad mini which goes everywhere with me in my suit jacket pocket. As a result, I don't feel a need for a larger phone, and a larger phone couldn't replace my mini for reading pdfs with lots of equations. I could certainly understand why a larger phone would be great for someone who doesn't want to carry a mini-tablet everywhere.

Actually, I'm tempted to see if I can get my iPad-mini to behave like a phone for me. That would be one less device to carry around, and for me, worth giving up one handed operation for.

 

[hipnetic]

You're driving a bus full of orphaned special needs kids and on your phone?

Oops...looks like you missed the bus.

 

[Silken]

I think it all comes down to personal preference. I have no issue with using two hands as I have quite small hands. I guess if it feels right then that's what counts.

 

[vrflyer]

I have long fingers so the 6Plus feels perfect using it one handed...

 

[Sparkeze]

Oops...looks like you missed the bus.

Wondering if he's my bus driver. He's hot.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I have long fingers so the 6Plus feels perfect using it one handed...


Image

I guess I have really long fingers, because when I do that? My pointer finger extends past the top of the Plus.

 

[redman042]

I'm still seriously on the fence about which phone size is right for me. Never considered myself a phablet guy, but that 6+ is pretty amazing, and others I know who are pretty practical people have jumped on the plus and love it. Reading this discussion has not cleared it up for me (even after skipping the stupid arguing, name-calling, and judgmental comments that have nothing to do with the thread topic).

I have held and played with the Plus twice, but unless I have a solid couple of weeks with it, I will not really know. Where I'm at on this right now:

Plus

• Better display
• Can leave iPad at home (though the iPad's usefulness to me will definitely be diminished)
• Photo and video viewing and editing much better on bigger screen - don't need to transfer to iPad to get that benefit
• Web browsing much easier on eyes

iPhone 6

• No compromises with one-handed use - no extra effort to position hand
• When doing active things (hike, beach, etc.), it's less "in the way" (I'm imagining the plus swinging around like mad in loose shorts pocket while jogging
• Less prone to lose grip

 

[bpeeps]

Is it really difficult to understand that everyone has different needs. Half of the threads posted here can be answered with this reasoning.

 

[hipnetic]

iPhone 6

• No compromises with one-handed use - no extra effort to position hand

Everyone has different sized hands, but I think my fingers are pretty long, and I'd disagree with this point. I think that the 6 is still a bit unwieldy. And going from the 4S to the 5, I thought that was a bit more unwieldy as well. Reaching the top left corner of the screen of a 5 required a minor adjustment. Reaching it on the 6 is very uncomfortable, and typically requires using the reachability function.

So, IMO, if one-handed use is important to you, I think you need to be aware that moving up to the regular 6 will be a step back in the comfort level of using it one-handed, but it can be done. Similarly, going up to the 6+ will add yet another degree of uncomfortability, but with that phone you *also* (unless you have very small hands) can probably find ways to contort/shift your hand to use it one-handed.

Personally, I want to have my cake and eat it, too. I want a big-screened phone that I can use one-handed. Is that something that is impossible to pull off? I don't think so, but it will require a new physical design and changes to the UI. The UI changes (e.g., guidelines stating that it's a no-no to put any on-screen buttons at the top of the screen) could be implemented by Apple and benefit existing iPhone 6+ owners. But the hardware changes would need to be implemented in a future product, though some of them could be accomplished via add-on products.

For example, I could see smartphone companies designing their phones with a bottom-heavy wedge design, making the top of the device ultra-thin and light, with the battery being concentrated in the bottom half. I believe this would make the phone less drop-prone. Also, the sides and back of the bottom portion would be coated in a grippy material, rather than smooth metal or glass.

 

[deviant]

I can palm a basketball. Still too big to use it with 1 hand comfortably

 

[Caesars]

Because: subjective opinion / personal preference.

 

[redman042]

So, IMO, if one-handed use is important to you, I think you need to be aware that moving up to the regular 6 will be a step back in the comfort level of using it one-handed, but it can be done. Similarly, going up to the 6+ will add yet another degree of uncomfortability, but with that phone you *also* (unless you have very small hands) can probably find ways to contort/shift your hand to use it one-handed.

Good point, and I'll definitely test grip scenarios with both devices next time I'm in an Apple Store. I'm not due for an upgrade until the end of the year so I have some time to think about this. I don't need perfect one handed use, just an ability to do basic things one-handed when my other hand is full, even if it's a little difficult. I know people have come up with ways to hold and use the 6 Plus one-handed that works. I would still say my bigger priority is larger screen real-estate, which I would get with either the 6 or the 6 Plus. So it's a matter of balancing degree of benefit with degree of compromise.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Oops...looks like you missed the bus.

Looks more like the driver did. But do please explain to us how it's responsible to be texting while driving a bus full of children because I'm sure your justification for it is bound to be amusing.

 

[hipnetic]

I don't need perfect one handed use, just an ability to do basic things one-handed when my other hand is full, even if it's a little difficult...I would still say my bigger priority is larger screen real-estate, which I would get with either the 6 or the 6 Plus. So it's a matter of balancing degree of benefit with degree of compromise.

This is where I'm at. I love the bigger screen. I'm not sure that I really *need* the bigger screen, as I don't watch videos on the go, but I like it for looking at photos, and I think it will come in great for in-car use where I can poke at bigger buttons on-screen (I'm thinking of possibly using the Zoomed mode when driving and the regular mode when not).

One thing I'd definitely recommend: If you're going to even think about using it one-handed, get some sort of grippy case or bumper. Using a naked iPhone 6+ one-handed is asking for trouble.

Looks more like the driver did. But do please explain to us how it's responsible to be texting while driving a bus full of children because I'm sure your justification for it is bound to be amusing.

If I have to explain it to you, it kind of defeats the point, but here goes: The person who stated he likes to use his phone one-handed while driving a bus full of special needs kids was making an obvious joke, and people like you who didn't get the joke probably ride the short bus.