Why iPhone’s Once Promising Feature for Users with Small Hands Needs Reworking

Reachability is a shortcut that Apple began building into its iPhones in 2014, once its devices became too big for most peoples’ thumbs to easily navigate the entire screen. Simply double tap (not press) the home button and the top part of the screen slides down within striking distance of your thumb.

It’s a thoughtful feature meant to make iPhone use a simple and hassle free experience, especially in the era of the phablet. Yet a poll by Phone Arena has found that just 31% of those surveyed utilize this function on a regular basis. On the other hand, 40.44% of respondents disclosed that they rarely or never use the reachability function. The remaining 28.07% of those polled have Android phones, which skewed the results somewhat. But the fact remains, according to the survey, more often than not iPhone owners do not use the feature.

There are a lot of possible reasons for reachability’s lack of usage. It’s fair to assume that at least some iPhone owners do not know about its existence. If that’s you, now you know! It’s also likely that some of those who are aware of the shortcut simply forget to use it in the split second it takes to reach the top of the screen and have become accustomed to working without it. After all, it’s not too hard to move your hand or stretch your thumb up an inch or two to reach the uppermost portion of the screen. And, if you’re using two hands, working with a large screen isn’t a problem at all. Reachability isn’t really all that useful, and most people get on fine without it.

Rather than reserving the key shortcut for reachability, it makes sense to allow people to assign an app of their choice to it. Double tapping the home button could be used to call forth the camera app, for instance, or pull up another frequently used app, like Safari. In any case, making the double tap function customizable would allow users to figure out what’s most convenient for them and set up their favorite shortcuts accordingly.

Do you use Reachability? What shortcut would you rather see in its place?
Let us know in the comments below.