Newest Apple Patent Could Make Future 5.5-Inch iPhones Usable with One Hand

In America, sometimes big is better, and Apple listened by releasing the rather large 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 Plus was very popular, however, not everyone was excited about the larger iPhone. The problem? Most people must use two hands to access all of the iPhone 6 Plus’ onscreen features.

While it is technically still possible to use the larger size iPhone with one hand, many people have trouble with it. Napier Lopeze from TNW discovered a patent for a smarter iPhone that can tell what hand position users have on the phone and will automatically move the interface’s elements around for optimal reach.

It won’t matter if users are left or right-handed as the software can adjust to both users, Lopeze writes.

What’s really exciting is the possibility that Apple customers won’t have to buy new phones for the feature. “Moreover, Apple says it can implement the feature with existing iPhone hardware, which means this sort of smart UI shifting could simply be an update away,” Lopeze writes, “Some techniques including monitoring your device’s accelerometer and gyroscope, or even track changes in single performance as you move your thumb across the display.” Using technology that already exists in the iPhone might encourage more people to buy larger iPhones now and in the future.

Lopeze says Apple may still use specialized hardware, “such as touch sensors on the body of the phone for extra accuracy, which would probably be the better choice in the long run.” Apple benefits more by waiting rather than adding new features right away. Ideally for consumers, the company would release a limited version of hand positioning detection as a free update for older iPhones, and a more comprehensive hardware version for the next iPhone model.

Phone size does matter, and with three different sizes of iPhones Apple fans have more than enough choices for the right fit, be it 4, 4.7, or 5.5 inches. Fortunately, the features available between these different phone variations are very similar, with the iPhone 6s Plus being the king at the moment. However, for optimal one-handed use, the iPhone SE stacks up well against Apple’s much more expensive iPhone 6s.

A “hand position detection” type feature would allow more Apple fans to handle the iPhone 6s Plus with one hand. The Reachability feature was a decent first step, however, room for improvement is ample.

Do you think it’s difficult to use the iPhone 6s Plus with one hand?
Let us know in the comments!

Featured Photo Zeynep Demir / Shutterstock.com

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]