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Other Where are all the 1 handers at?

macher

macher

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 13, 2012
3,341
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Am I behind the times because I want to use my iPhone 12P truly 1 handed but can’t without fiddling around?

Where I can whip my SE2020 out of my pocket and go to town 1 handed without fiddling. My thumb can easily move around on the real estate.

Anyone else a 1 hander?
 
I mean, I'm thinking of upgrading to the 12 Mini from a XS I picked up earlier this year if only so I can get a phone that's one handed, so we seem to some extent.
 
elexonica said:
I mean, I'm thinking of upgrading to the 12 Mini from a XS I picked up earlier this year if only so I can get a phone that's one handed, so we seem to some extent.
Click to expand...

IMO the 12 isn’t a 1 handed device. I have average size hands and it’s inconvenient and a lot of fiddling around to use it 1 handed.

Don’t get me wrong the large screen is awesome and so is the battery life.

What I would be concerned about the maybe the mini is battery life. I think the mini will have 25% of battery life if the 12 / 12P.
 
Robbosan said:
Keyboards are too small
Click to expand...

Yea smaller but not significantly smaller. Just tested my SE2020. I can type just as easily 1 handed vs using my 12P 2 handed to type. Yea I’m using 2 thumbs to type on the 12P vs 1 thumb on the SE2020.
 
Large screens and big batteries don't go 'hand' in 'hand' with one-handed use. There are trade-offs. What's more important to you? If one-handed use is a priority, you have to expect smaller screens and batteries. Common sense.
 
Phone Junky said:
Large screens and big batteries don't go 'hand' in 'hand' with one-handed use. There are trade-offs. What's more important to you? If one-handed use is a priority, you have to expect smaller screens and batteries. Common sense.
Click to expand...

Oh yea I know that. I’m willing to sacrifice screen size. But I’m loving the 12P battery life. My SE2020 battery life sucks and yes it’s because of the small battery.
 
macher said:
What I would be concerned about the maybe the mini is battery life. I think the mini will have 25% of battery life if the 12 / 12P.
Click to expand...

Depends on your usage.

But the Battery is about 21% smaller. So i can't see how it would be 25%. The smaller screen area (-20%) will also use less energy and has less pixels to drive.

So my estimate is around ~15-18% less battery life.
 
Apple’s battery ratings (which are typically accurate in the past) estimate anywhere from 10-24% battery loss with the Mini vs the 12/12 Pro, depending on the task.

On most days I’m a 3-to-3.5 hour screen use guy, so I think I’ll be just fine. On rare occasion, I’m a 5-to-6 hour screen time user. This days I may need to charge it up a bit during the middle of the day.
 
I am definitely getting the mini. It is still way too large though. For me, phone shape and dimensions peaked with the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3G shape and size with an edge to edge display would be my perfect 2020 phone.
 
Nozuka said:
Depends on your usage.

But the Battery is about 21% smaller. So i can't see how it would be 25%. The smaller screen area (-20%) will also use less energy and has less pixels to drive.

So my estimate is around ~15-18% less battery life.
Click to expand...

Ah ok. I tested my 12P yesterday on just cellular no WiFi, full brightness and constant HD streaming. In 6 hours my battery was at 30% which I was happy with. I know it’s hard but how much would the mini have?
 
Last edited:
Phone Junky said:
Large screens and big batteries don't go 'hand' in 'hand' with one-handed use. There are trade-offs. What's more important to you? If one-handed use is a priority, you have to expect smaller screens and batteries. Common sense.
Click to expand...

Well actually with the 12 mini I would be getting larger screen real estate vs the SE2020. But I want and need better battery life than the SE2020.
 
macher said:
Ah ok. I tested my 12P yesterday on just cellular no WiFi, full brightness and constant HD streaming. In 6 hours my battery was at 30% which I was happy with. I know it’s hard but how much would the mini have?
Click to expand...
Screen Shot 2020-10-26 at 7.38.15 AM.png
 
I've been a strong proponent for the iPhone mini since last year when I realised it's possibly the only hope to replace my iPhone SE1.

I actually tried the regular 12 in store a couple of times now and the initial thought when I held it was "I can live with this" As soon as I actually tried to type on the keyboard though I realised my thumb just doesn't have the reach.

This at least proved for me that the square edges are a lot more secure to hold. But usability other than browsing is another matter entirely.

Can't wait for the mini. I wish they made a Pro Mini.
 
iZac said:
I've been a strong proponent for the iPhone mini since last year when I realised it's possibly the only hope to replace my iPhone SE1.

I actually tried the regular 12 in store a couple of times now and the initial thought when I held it was "I can live with this" As soon as I actually tried to type on the keyboard though I realised my thumb just doesn't have the reach.

This at least proved for me that the square edges are a lot more secure to hold. But usability other than browsing is another matter entirely.

Can't wait for the mini. I wish they made a Pro Mini.
Click to expand...

I got the 12P Friday on a weekend. Being around the house, sitting in the couch etc I was the same as you “I can live with this”.

Then it happened. Completely different experience at work. I don’t have a desk job and on the go at my job. Lots of times at work I need to use my iPhone 1 handed and do something with my other hand maybe writing something down for example while talking or texting. Or getting a work order and trouble shooting 1 hand while texting and talking and using a tool to fix something.
 
My hands may be a tiny bit bigger than “average,” but the 12 is perfectly one-hand usable for me. I am genuinely pleased with the size. 11 Pro was just a tad too small for me and the 11 Pro Max was quite a bit too big. 11 was almost there, but just a little chunky. 12 is spot on for me.
 
GeeMillz22 said:
My hands may be a tiny bit bigger than “average,” but the 12 is perfectly one-hand usable for me. I am genuinely pleased with the size. 11 Pro was just a tad too small for me and the 11 Pro Max was quite a bit too big. 11 was almost there, but just a little chunky. 12 is spot on for me.
Click to expand...

Well it also depends on the case you’re using. I’m using a Sup Case Unicorn Beatle. I have average size hands. My preferred case which they stopped making is the Magpul Bump case.

Not to criticize or question anyone but with this case and average hands there’s NO way the 12P is a 1 handed device. Even naked it’s barely / borderline a 1 handed device.
 
Of course it's not a 1-handed device unless you hold it a certain way (balanced on pinky). Held that way, I only have an extra 1/2 inch of thumb available on an OG SE (top left corner for a right-hander).

At 6'-2" with fairly large hands, the 6 form factor is about as big as it gets. It's the reason I sold my iPhone X. Even the 12 Mini will be borderline for the majority of people.
 
Add the Accessibility, Assistive Touch button to the home screen. It helps in doing more things one handed.

You can find it at Settings>Accessibility>Touch>Assistive Touch - tap Off it's its off> Tap On to turn it on>and then customize the Custom Actions to what you want. It will place an opaque white button on the screen that will be translucent when idle, although you can adjust the lucency of the button when idle.

You can then program it to be short cuts for things like reachability, App Switcher, etc. I've been using it since I got my X and it's really helpful to activate reachability without having to swipe up from the bottom of the screen. The app swithcer is also quite helpful as is the restart shortcut so I can restart the phone without have to do the three button sequence.
 
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