Much of the time we have to use our smartphones with two hands—one hand to hold the phone and the other hand to tap and swipe and press buttons. But sometimes using both hands isn't feasible. You may be unable to use a certain hand due to a disability, accident, or other issues. Or you may simply want the flexibility to manage your phone without tying up both hands. Whatever the reason, there are ways you can control your phone using just one hand.
Android phones and iPhones offer different options to access key features, navigate screens, and type text with a single hand. Let's look at both types of phones to see how this works.
iPhone
Reachability
When using your iPhone with one hand in Portrait mode, you can turn on a Reachability feature that lowers the top half of the screen so you can more easily access it with your thumb. To enable this, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch and turn on the switch for Reachability.
To put this into practice on an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down on the bottom edge of the screen. The top half should then move down. On an iPhone with a Home button, lightly double-tap it to move the top half down. To return to the regular full screen, tap the upper half of the screen.
One-Handed Keyboard
You can reduce the size of your keyboard and move it right or left so it’s easier to type using just your thumb. This method is awkward for any extended period of time, so you wouldn’t want to write the great American novel this way. But for a quick text or email, it's a great workaround.
To try this, open any app in which you want to enter text, such as Mail or Messages. Press down on the globe or emoji icon in the lower left of the screen below the keyboard keys. The menu shows three keyboard layouts at the bottom. Tap the left image to move your keyboard to the left. Tap the right image to move it to the right. When done, press the Globe icon again and tap the middle image, or just tap the arrow key next to the left or right keyboard.
Back Tap
With the Back Tap feature enabled, you can tap the back of your iPhone two or three times to run different commands. To turn this on, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. Tap the setting for Double Tap and choose the command action you want to be triggered by a double tap. Go back to the previous screen and select Triple Tap. Choose the activity for triple tapping. When you want to run the associated commands, just double or triple tap the back of your phone.
AssistiveTouch
The AssistiveTouch feature displays a button that you position on the screen and then tap to perform different tasks. To set this up, go to Settings > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch. Turn on the switch for AssistiveTouch. The button appears and can be moved to the left or right side of the screen for easier access with one hand.
You can now customize the button to trigger specific actions based on whether you tap it once or twice or long-press on it. Under Custom Actions, tap the setting for Single-Tap. At the next screen, select the action you want to trigger with one tap. Choosing Open Menu displays a Top Level Menu that you can also customize with icons for a variety of commands and features.
Go back to the previous screen, select Double-Tap, and choose the action you wish to run here. Go back to the prior screen once more, select Long-Press, and then select the associated action.
To tweak the Top Level Menu if you chose that as an option, tap Customize Top Level Menu. Here, you can add more icons for different commands and swap out the existing icons for other ones.
Siri
Lastly, don’t forget that Siri is around to assist you. When using your phone with one hand, you can trigger a host of commands and features by speaking to the voice assistant, including dictating and sending text and email messages. This page from Apple covers some of the many commands you can issue to Siri.
Android
The ability to use an Android phone with one hand varies based on the OS version and phone.
One-Handed Mode
With Android 12 or higher, you can turn on a one-handed mode that lowers the top half of the screen, similar to the Reachability feature on an iPhone. To enable this on most Android phones, go to Settings > System > Gestures > One-handed Mode and turn on the switch for Use one-handed mode. If you can’t find the setting this way, go to Settings and search for that term.
With some phones, you can choose between activating the feature by swiping down the screen at the bottom or by double-tapping the Home button. Certain phones, such those from Samsung, also offer the one-handed option with older versions of Android. After enabling the feature, activate it at any screen to pull down the top.
On some Android phones, you can instead set the one-handed feature to display notifications and key settings. At the One-handed mode screen in Settings, choose the option for Show notifications. Swipe down at the bottom of the screen to display settings at the top and notifications below them.
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On-Screen Button
Instead of swiping down at the bottom of the screen, you can display an on-screen button to go into one-handed mode. At the One-handed mode screen in Settings, turn on the switch for One-handed mode shortcut. A button then appears on the screen, which you can position anywhere on the left or right side. Then just tap that button to pull down the top of the screen or display notifications.
Keyboard
You can shrink and move the keyboard on an Android phone to more easily type with one hand. The process varies based on the manufacturer and phone, but here are a couple of methods.
Open a text-based app, such as email or messaging. Tap in the text field. Tap the ellipsis icon on the toolbar above the keyboard keys. Tap the icon for One handed if you see it. The keyboard will then shift to the left or right side of the screen. Tap the left or right arrow to shift it to the other side of the screen. Tap the icon with the four arrows to reset it back to full screen.
Some phones, including ones from Samsung, offer a different way to access the one-handed keyboard. In a text-based app, tap the ellipsis icon and then tap the icon for Modes. This screen offers three layouts: Standard keyboard, One-handed keyboard, and Floating keyboard. Choose the one-handed keyboard and you can shift it to the right or left. With the floating keyboard, you can move it around the screen by dragging it via the horizonal line below the space bar.
Gestures
Finally, you can trigger certain commands and actions through gestures, such as tapping the back of your phone, pressing the fingerprint sensor, and pressing the power button. As with most Android features, what you can do and how you do it vary based on your model phone and OS version. But you can at least review your options. Go to Settings > System > Gestures or Settings > Advanced features > Motions and gestures.
Some phones, such as the last few Google Pixel models, offer a feature called Quick Tap, similar to the iPhone’s Back Tap. Turn the switch on for this feature if you see it on your phone. You can then set a specific action that’s triggered when you tap the back of your phone, such as taking a screenshot, playing or pausing media, showing notifications, or opening a specific app.
Beyond Quick Tap, most phones will provide other gestures. Review the screen on your phone to find and enable any of the following options:
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Double-press the power key to launch Google Assistant or the camera.
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Double-tap the screen to turn it on or off.
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Tap, swipe, or long-press the fingerprint sensor to view notifications or open and close apps.
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Long-press the power button to display a power menu.
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Press the power button twice to open the camera.
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Shrink the screen by swiping from the center to the bottom left or right corner.
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