The Big Phone Problem
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2020
- or (the proof is in the PopSocket)
Phones are so large that many people feel the need to buy things to compensate for how large they are.
Links:
www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives...
Music (in order of appearance):
The Decision-Corbyn Kites
Sunrise in Paris-Dan Henig
All Stars-Patrick Patrikios
Dusk Drive-Corbyn Kites
Pluckandplay-Kwon
No. 4 Piano Journey-Esther Abrami
Danger Snow-Dan Henig
Not Alone-Corbyn Kites
Slow Burn-Corbyn Kites
Trapped-Quincas Moreira
Higher-Corbyn Kites
East-Corbyn Kites
Lilac Skies-Corbyn Kites
Birds-Corbyn Kites
Courage-Corbyn Kites
Setup:
Camera: Canon 60D w/ Magic Lantern
Lens: EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, 50mm f/1.4 USM
Microphone: AmazonBasics Desktop Mini Condenser
Software: Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, Pixelmator Pro, Logic Pro X
No subscription software or badly ported NLEs were used in the making of this video. 
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I totally agree! I just changed from the iPhone XR to a 13 mini. I have fairly large hands but I think it’s absolutely just a better, more practical size
@Jaquan Kelsor hahaha losers, it has been discontinued 😊
Same I went from the galaxy s10 5g to the 13 mini and it’s great
I also switched from the pro max to the mini
It’s 100% a more practical size. I don’t want to watch video on my phone anyways. I have a laptop, desktop and Tv for that and my phone is just worse than all of those. Plus it even fits comfortably into the tiny pockets you get with some women’s clothing.
Basically I want it for music and texting big screens are just dumb for me to have and waste battery life.
@@nadaso8819 but small phones typically have worse battery life because they have less spaces for batteries?
i still don't get why most phones need to be so damn big if nice tablets exist to play the part way better it's so hard trying to find the right phone nowadays cuz all of them have their own unique dealbreaker
Bro 💀 a couple years ago my dad bought a 11 pro max and I legit said “just buy an iPad mini”
@@enhidri160 maybe we don't want to pay an extra $500?
@@hazyproduct1692 uhh.. youre saving like $600 with the iPad mini
@@enhidri160 14 pro and ipad mini is 1600, 14 pro max is 1100.
@@hazyproduct1692 oh i wasnt specifying the pro model too
The statistics of one handed use completely shocked me, since I use it that way 99% of the time. I’ve mostly stuck to the 4” screen of an iPhone SE and iPod Touch. To me, if I need two hands for a device, it’ll be at least a laptop.
That's the point. Big phones are as meaningless as tablets. Any thin x86 flagship laptop destroys top end smartphones in any sense. There are even those with decent cameras, such as the surface go.
So… you text with only one hand?
@@Rudrugo yes
@@Rudrugo Ever heard of swiping? ruclips.net/video/uAzl34epmhc/видео.html
@@Rudrugo i love the swipe keyboard. replying this content with it
If small phones had the battery of big phones, I'd switch to a smaller phone. But that doesn't seem possible. Typing is also a problem on small phones for me personally.
Idk, I use a 13 mini and battery life has been great - I thought it wouldn't be that good - but according to tests it actually performs just as good or better than most phones (except of course huge dum a flagship phones) - but honestly the ability that this is ACTUALLY a pocket computer & I can finally use it with one hand battery becomes such a small disadvantage.
Pixel 7 is a nice design. I have big hands and have been rocking pros....the standard 7 is perfect. And has great abttery
Honestly the problem with typing is more of a touch thing than a size thing. I had a Nokia like millennia ago that had a QWERTY keyboard with very tiny keys and I never typed so fast with one hand. It provided a level of precision of input that touch screens simply can't reproduce.
Maybe making a phone thicker could be a solution, but many people don't like thick phones (and I honestly don't know why). For me, the ideal phone would be something with a screen size of iPhone 5 and a battery with at least 4AH
@@akeem2983 big bulge in pockets in a day and age where tight clothes are popular plus other things
At first I thought I was just getting too old for thinking that phones are getting too big for people, like I'm grateful for the slimness, but it's absolutely hell to keep in your pocket, especially for the folks that don't have big pockets
I’m a girl and I feel called out by the last part.
iPhone 12 mini is the phone is the most loyal representation of Steve Jobs' and Jony Ive's vision. My hand is not growing as phones get bigger, if I want an iPad I'll buy an iPad.
Also, your videos are dope. Subbed!
After upgrading to a iPhone 12 mini from a 5s, it still feels massive due to the small bezels.
Exactly. Honestly, just using the device made me think that iOS 14 must be have been designed for this phone. Everything scales perfectly, with content being the focus but reaching all four corners still being possible, and the device is so easy to use single-handed.
@@ponraul1221 massive but fairly reachable. the SE is even bigger than the mini. I’m still using a 6s since 4 years ago (minus last year when i bought an 11 pro and sold it for being broke) and it’s actually refreshing to be comfortable using it one-handed. i might consider a 13 mini next year.
I have that model too, and I definitely prefer it over larger phones. My first iPhone was the SE, which is very similar in size.
My thoughts exactly. I upgraded from my 6s to the 12 mini and it was fantastic. My phone is just a camera, communication device, music player, and GPS. Those are all tasks that should be one-handable. If I need a larger screen I’d buy an iPad or a foldable.
I agree about the search bar placement being in the bottom half of the screen. The Safari app now in iOS 15 has this and I hope other apps will follow this, or at least have the option for it.
I use Windows Phone in 2015, and it was my first "big" phone with 5 inches screen, where before that I use phone with screen below 4 inches. I remember how big it feels the first time I use it. But fortunately browser in Windows Phone 8 and Windows 10 Mobile has its toolbar on the bottom including the address bar. And it also have one handed mode, where the UI would pull down to the bottom half so it's more reachable.
i stick to Firefox on my s20 and it works fantastic with the bottom search bar
Chrome used to have this and then Google cut it 🙄
Another big one for me are very very tiny Like buttons. Sometimes on Twitter I will miss the heart and mistakenly open up the tweet in a new window like 3 times in a row.
And full screen and video controls being both too small to use precisely. And not sticking to one side of the screen so when you slide the play indicator you cover up the content with your hand.
I think that a lot of people forget that on iPhone there’s an accessibility option to pull down on the home bar and it will pull the entire screen down to where the top section of an app easily reachable at the middle of the screen. I don’t use it but the option has been there for years.
Edit: if you want to enable the option I’m talking about go to settings >accessibility >touch >reachability >on
It is a blessing to have massive hands, it makes me feel at home, as if every phone in the modern market was designed for me and nobody else.
This is exactly how I feel, my hands fit the "too large" phones perfectly. honestly a lot of the smaller phones feel too small but thats probably just because I'm used to mine.
Phones have definitely become quite large, on one hand I love the benefits you get for viewing content and typing with two hands. However smaller phones do have their merits to them. Not really sure why companies aren't trying to create smaller designed devices for the group that still wants them
To me it seems like companies think they know what we want
Cause nobody buys them especially mini iphones. Bigger phone equals more space for better things. The 13mini is cool but theres things the mini cant do than the normal 13 can
It’s especially frustrating as someone with smaller hands. I’m essentially stuck with Apple, and, now that the 6s is no longer supported or repaired, that means I’m stuck with the idiocy that is no headphone jack, because none of the phones with a headphone jack will fit in my hand!
Honestly, back when I had the 2016 SE, which was I think the same size as all the 5s, that was the perfect size for a phone.
@@libbybollinger5901 Amen!
I think it wasn't a big money maker.
What you talk about here is brilliant. There's a huge problem with ergonomics in recent phone designs. I've been waiting to hear about this from renowned reviewers for a while so I'm very pleased to bump into your excellent video.
If companies are going to keep making big hefty slabs with sharp edges and huge camera bumps the new normal, they should work on shaping them better. And why not making them thicker instead of taller and wider to accommodate better thermals and batteries while they work on SoC efficiency?
There should be an option in the market to buy smaller phones... I mean androids.
Who really cares about how thin phones are outside the Apple media ecosystem? I couldn't give less of a shit if you made me.
@@sexyscientist true. but even on android, the selection isn't that wide :(
@@kouhaiii3182 There is no selection right now. There are no sub 6" androids releasing any more.
The problem with ergonomics go deeper than phone sizes. There must be a better shape than a rectangle to fit in hand, the phones could be much bigger than what they are and still a pleasure to use. But there is no experimentation in the industry because you need your own OS to fit a non-standard screen and all the companies known for their gimmicks and innovation died out because nothing can compete with Android.
Yes, there is also iOS, but when did Apple try to do something new that might be a new trend or might be a complete flop? They always just took what someone else was doing and popularized it.
I recently switched to the iPhone 13 mini for a few reasons. All of which revolve around the idea that these phones are tools we use in certain situations, not toys we fiddle with at all times. I switched to the smaller phone the same time I deleted all of my social media. Now, I text and make phone calls with the occasional reminder/alarm/directions. This works much better for me than having a bigger screen and bigger battery to consume more media for a longer amount of time. One of the most profound things I've learned getting older is: sometimes, being bored is a good thing.
The quality of this video and the thought put into it are just next level. Keep it up!
First of all: great video! One thing i noticed is that Windows Phone 7 did all the things you wanted like 10 years ago. They really were ahead of their time! Also they moved the search bar of the browser down, a move Apple copied ages later
I'm not sure if "copied" is the right word. They probably forgot Microsoft did it before them.
I think the big screen helps with accessibility for older individuals. My dad, for example, has an easier time seeing the fonts and pressing the buttons. He also has really large fingers and has a hard time pressing buttons accurately on smaller screens.
The thing with that is they have pretty good accessibility options for making the icons and text larger, along with a host of others (e.g reading text, filters for high contrast or to assist the colourblind). Making the entire phone larger might open up more real estate so you can have more icons/text on the screen even when they're enlarged, but if those icons are out of reach and inconvenient to use it doesn't make it any more net accessible.
Depends, my mom is in her 60s and still prefers to use my old iPhone 5s. She just sets the text to the largest option to see
Only some disabilities. Movement related ones are disadvantaged
Overall the range of size thats accesible in the market should be wider. People have different wants and need, the scaling should account for both ends.
the statistics of ways people use phones was really shocking because I'm someone who uses their smartphone exclusively with one hand and i see most people my age doing the same. i guess that having bigger hands help but i completely understand the appeal of a smaller phone.
I definitely can’t use it with one hand all the time, I hand small hands
Absolutely agree with everything in this video. Been using an iPhone 13 mini for the better part of a year and it is my favorite smartphone since my iPhone 5s. Can’t believe it was replaced with the 14 Plus this cycle.
My 5s was my favourite. I have a 7 now and hate the extra length + lack of headphone jack.
Seeing how bad the sales of the 14 plus are, I think they'll bring the mini back in the future. I have some experience with the 13 mini and it's really nice to use but I just can't get away from my note 10 plus. It's just so good for reading and media consumption. And android's or I guess one ui's gesture system is so much better than on the iphones. Like it was usable on the mini but I don't see how the same could be said for the bigger sizes. Opening up the control panel is definitely a nightmare on those while with my note 10 plus, I can swipe down anywhere and the top panel comes down.
This is all accurate to what made me get a 12 mini. Only downside is, the Battery is awful. But, nothing a portable charger can't change, you know? Sure it's a little extra work and $, but it's better than carrying a big phone in my hands. Especially since I have very tiny hands, lol.
I also got the 12 mini solely because of the form factor. The battery didn't bother me that much, but that's because my previous phone was a much older device so I'm used to it. A big phone would be a more significant dealbreaker to me because I wouldn't even be able to hold it comfortably. They could've fixed the battery problem by making the phone thicker. I don't get why manufacturers are crazy about thin phones. They're more difficult to pick up if you're not using a phone case.
The battery life issue probably comes from using your phone too much. Maybe take a break once in a while.
@@Gamefreak924 you never learned the life lesson about unsolicited advice and everyone around you knows it, gamerboy
Damn I miss Steve Jobs. He knew, great technology was the perfect marriage between form, function and aesthetic. Really great video calling the problem out. I love the screen sizes on the newer larger phones, but interaction and usability is frustrating. I'm currently stuck deciding between an S22, S22+ and an iPhone 13 pro and it's largely down to ergonomics, I don't know which is the best. I suspect they all have drawbacks.
Which one is the most ergonomic, Scotty?
@@sexyscientist ergonomics wise, S22.
But the other factors outweigh this ergonomics advantage of the S22.
I would say the iPhone SE is even better than all of those options for ergonomics.
@@ForzaMonkey agree with you, Monkey.
I have to applaud Samsung for doing their best with large screens, making as much as possible usable within reach. Still should make it smaller though
The quality in both thought and production here are phenomenal! This video (and channel) are so underrated.
I used to have Lumia smartphones with Windows Phone operating system in it. Their user interface made it an awesome phone to use one-handed!
Thanks for this masterpiece Jerry, you just drop the mic and i'm proud of it.
I have small hands so I would have to get a really small phone to reach every corner of the screen one-handed. So I'm just used to using my phone with both hands even if I have popsocket. But you just made me realize how much more comfortable it is to use my phone since I got glaxy s22+ thanks to the big titles.
Wow I wanted to see someone talk about this issue because I hate stretching to the top for anything. You explained it really well, I can’t believe the most valuable tech company in the world hasn’t addressed this issue on their number one product. That’s why they look like they’re copying android
I still have an original iPhone SE, and this is a very large reason why I still haven’t switched after 6 years, alongside the removal of a headphone port and the home button no longer being a physical button.
There is also a reachability option in Accessibility that has been around since the iPhone 6. If you turn it on (Settings / Accessibility / Touch), you can double-tap the home button and the entire screen slides down for you to reach what is at the top. If you have a newer phone without a home button you can slide down on the bottom edge of the screen instead.
He shows this at 1:22 😅
This is the point he's making: these solutions are great, but they are only necessary because phones are so big these days.
@@BambiTrout His point wasn't that phones are too big these days lol wut? His point was that these features are bandaids for a bigger issue. Phone UX is trash and these companies can't seem to come up with better solutions to fix the issue. I posted this elsewhere in the comments but...
I run a Galaxy S21 Ultra for my daily driver and I have an iPhone SE that was issued to me by my job for my work cell. The iPhone feels so cumbersome and unwieldy (despite having a markedly smaller screen) because I can't make changes to the UI to accommodate my single handed, right hand dominant use of the phone. There are two HUGE issues that I have ran into with the design on the iPhone from a one handed operation standpoint. 1) Why is the back button for every application in the absolute worst place imaginable. They don't just place it at the top of the phone, but the TOP LEFT. The vast majority of users are right handed and putting anything requiring frequent interaction at the top of the phone is already just bad design, but the top LEFT? Literally unforgivable in my opinion. The devs responsible should be canned. 2) The inability to place icons where you want them on the home screen without filling the screen with useless stuff since apps MUST populate from the, again, TOP LEFT and then build rows from left to right top to bottom.
There are solutions for this if you Jailbreak the iPhone, but being company property that isn't happening for me. However, on my android phone I use nova launcher. This launcher lets me place icons wherever I want them and so I have my 1st page with 1 single icon for my phone, and my 2nd page with 2 columns of icons starting at the bottom right and stacking 5 rows tall. These icons are mostly folders which are organized by application type (Video, Social, Music, Games, Images, Messaging) as well as 2 individual apps (Iceraven Web Browser and the Camera). I can easily select any one of these apps/folders and their contents with my thumb without stretching or reaching to get to them. Nova also lets you customize your gestures while on a home screen so I have mine set that swiping down ANYWHERE on the home screen opens my notification shade, and swiping up opens my app drawer. Also NONE of this requires any kind of root/jailbreak and the installation of a new launcher is natively supported on every Android.
In the app drawer unlike iOS and its garbage automatic sorting, I am able to manually sort everything into different pages, and folders within those pages if I so wish. For mine I have chosen to create 4 pages (Media/Messages, Productivity, Lifestyle, and Phone Management). Media and messaging has the things you would expect Apps related to either entertainment, or communication. Productivity is apps like my office applications, calculator, maps, etc. Lifestyle are things like food apps, finance apps, shopping apps, my car insurance, etc. And finally, phone management is basically where I keep all of my settings applications, file explorer, automation tools, customization tools etc.
Another nice feature is while I am inside my app drawer if I swipe down (again from anywhere on the screen) it opens up a search and automatically places the cursor in that search with my keyboard opened up. So I can quickly find ANYTHING I am looking for including hidden apps. (Did I mention you can also straight up hide apps if you don't want to see them or interact with them infrequently another SUPER BASIC feature that is missing from iOS)
All of this has helped quite a bit but it only scratches the surface of how much better things are on my android for one handed operation. Enter "One Hand Operation +". This app lets you set up zones on either side of your phone where you can bind gestures for navigation. On my phone I have it set up so that swiping back anywhere on the right hand edge of the screen sends the back command, swiping back and up, then holding for a second triggers the recent apps popup, and the same gesture but down triggers the home command. For the bottom 10% of the screen edge I have it set so that swiping back still triggers the back command, but swiping back and up/down triggers my google assistant.
With One Hand Operation + and Nova Launcher I am able to operate about 97% of my phones features with one hand VERY comfortably and the only times I ever have to reach any more are when a specific application has opted to design a part of its interface to be crap. I also switched to Iceraven (a Firefox offshoot) a while back for 2 reasons. 1) Support for extensions such as uBlock on a mobile browser, and 2) the search bar and all of its important user interface controls are AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PHONE.
Phones do not need to get smaller, and we don't need to waste half the screen with title cards. Phone manufacturers and software developers just need to build better controls as defaults and realize that thumbs are not a foot long. Nothing important should be out of reach, but that doesn't mean everything needs to be shoved to the bottom of the screen either. I would also venture that most people using their phones in a cradle hold are not doing so because it is how they WANT to use their phone, but it is because phone design has been so bad so long that they have just gotten used to doing it that way. No one responsible for out of the box experiences has stepped back since the first iPhone and asked, "Is this really the best way to design our UX?" The Play store is full of launchers that have tried to tackle these issues and apps to make navigation easier. But they are all 3rd party software which require user installation. It's time that these mega corporations realize that their UI's are poorly designed bunk and whoever is responsible for them staying stagnant for the last decade and a half needs to be canned.
He glaze over it as a button but I thought to mention my S9 has the fingerprint reader on the back and you can set it to open the top menu by swiping with you non thumb finger
@@TheOldSchoolCrisis bruh
I mostly use my phone two handed, but this made me realize that reaching the quick panel is quite a chore if I'm trying to do it one handed.
Luckily, Samsung's one ui has a solution with their one handed operations, so I set my quick panel to open through swiping. Thanks for the vid!
Big THANKS for addressing this issue, with such indepth research.
For someone with so few subscribers, this is very well made! I figured I was watching a million+ channel! Keep up the good work!
So true! The UX has to evolve with the growing screen sizes! Great content man! Thanks for sharing 👍🏼
WOW super hich quality video!
Tou totally deserve alot more likes and subs then you have! Please don't ever stop!Your videos will get more attention after some time and you will have alot of subs and views! I really hope your videos get popular!
RUclips just randomly recommend your channel, and I think it's great! Would love to see you upload again.
Enabling one handed mode is something I never knew I needed. Thank you.
Amazing video bro.
Really gets you thinking about the design process behind phones and apps and how phone companies have become complacent in some ways...
Very nice video! If you keep up this level I can easily see this channel becoming an over 1 million subs channel.
This video feels like it should have like 500.000+ views, it's so well made, keep up the great work sir 👍🏻
Wow! What an impressive video on design that is human. I am genuinely impressed with the research that went into making this.
Ubuntu Touch was kinda ahead of it's time by having a pinned/opened apps bar on the left, and switching recent apps by pulling from the right, meaning you wouldn't have to stretch your thumb to the bottom of your phone to exit or switch apps
Your videos are outstanding! Well-produced, educational, and entertaining from start to finish. Hope to see you return soon!
Did i just watch an entire video about how scalable things should be WHILE creating huge graphics for my assignment's front page.
YES.
blessed that the algorithm brought me here but then i see the most recent upload was a year ago 😭
these apple and iphone videos are so good!! hope you're doing well
This is exactly why I haven't upgraded my Pixel phone since the Pixel 5. I'm kind of holding out hope that Google will eventually make a smaller version or maybe the Asus ZenFone with that 5.9 inch screen will be more available
went from 3 to 6a and its so big lmao.
literally as a woman, for us and people afab with generally smaller hands, this has been a problem for as long as i've had a touch screen phone, and specifically buy the smaller version every time I need to replace mine for this reason alone. having a pop socket helps tremendously but there are still issues, and every time the smallest iphone size gets bigger it vaguely feels like developers literally don't remember care we exist lmao. not to mention how most children have phones now?? and are probably more prone to drop them! a nightmare lol
Not to mention how tiny the pockets are on women's clothing! If I don't have a bag with me I usually end up carrying my phone in my hand, because there's no way it'll ever fit in the front pocket of my pants.
@@zk5228 OMG YES. And if it’s in a back pocket you gotta be sooo careful or it’s going in the toilet 😞
Very well said brother. I kinda wonder even after all these years why no one is talking about this issue.
love the subject matter and this video is AMAZINGLY fun to digest. you're gonna go places
This is one of the reasons I like my zfold. The outside screen mimics a small phone for one hand use and while unfolded its basically a big phone. Its definitely not perfect (especially if you're left handed) but with the notification tray not actually needing to be grabed with the top of the screen it makes due.
love that the popsocket is technically an accessibility thing. i also use my phone with one hand, and have been using a popsocket for at least 4 years now. my current phone is also the biggest phone I've ever had -- roughly 6 3/4 inches without a case. as that graph showed, people who use phones one-handed are in the minority, so our ease of use is less pressing than the ease of use for someone who constantly has two hands on their phone. in comes the popsocket, a tool designed to make holding your phone more comfortable and stable. it's an aid. the popsocket and similar accessories becoming tools almost everyone uses is an example of Universal Design! created for a specific purpose, but used in ways that make everyone's lives easier! using something like a popsocket or a phone ring is almost necessary for those who physically can only use one hand, whether their other hand is missing or unusable for any reason, and the rest of us able-bodied people also get to benefit from its existence.
anyway universal design is cool and the stigma around accessibility features and accommodations should be lessened. we could all benefit from a world more suited to those who use it
Your voice is super relaxing
I didn’t know the backtap thing exists until this, thanks for that
You gave me a brilliant idea - a touchpad. The actual control fits in the size of 4" screen, but the screen is actually bigger. Touchpad is in the right-bottom corner but can configured however you want. You control it not by tapping but tapping and sliding a mouse pointer, click on release. Since this is a software solution, you can always adjust everything, including a "tap mode", what we have in phones today. This touchpad feature could even be added as a "one-handed mode" to current phones in just an update.
the galaxy flip has something like this and it works amazingly well
Kinda sounds like the old blackberry touch or scroll balls, those were amazing and I miss them. Way less thumb strain!
This is a really good video! I think you’re completely right 👏👏
Just found your channel through this video. Very well thought and concise. Amazing content, keep it up!
Can't wait to see this channel become huge
I bought the Samsung Flip3 when it came out and I gotta say, it's insane what people think is bothering about it. The "crease" I get,,, but they always also mention how narrow it is. I love this phone and the ability to put it in my back pocket and never have to worry about it falling out is a life changer.
UGHH yes as a woman i unfortunately have the smallest pockets ever!!! bUT with this phone i can actually fit my phone in my pocket and it is such a good feeling knowing it's secure and safe there. also zflip3 just feels much more fall-sturdy if you have made the habit of closing your phone when you're done with it! (i never leave it in the open state lol the anxiety)
That's the reason I have an s10e, OneUI is as you said easier to use one-handed and I can use the fingerptint sensor on the side to slide the notification bar down. It's perfect for me. What a shame there's not many options to upgrade from here...
Was not available in my country, so when Google launched Pixel 4a with 5.8 inch screen.
I jumped on it.
Same, I'll be sad when my s10e stops working because I doubt new smaller phones are going to be availble
@@PARADOXsquared Even I get panicked thinking about the day, my pixel would stop working.
I don't have that much money to spent ridiculous amount on a phone that is just the right size for a regular sized palm.
It should be the norm and not a novelty that they are making off of small phones
The videos on this channel are exceptional. Keep it up! You've definitely earned a subscriber.
This video is a cinematic masterpiece.
Pop sockets make phones look incredibly cheap.
Then get a diamond studded pop socket
@@awfully.average Anyone who uses a pop socket is guaranteed lame
I've always thought pop-sockets felt clunky. I much prefer not having one.
Reaching the top of my screen with one hand has never been an issue for me. If I need to access the top and bottom repeatedly, I just hold my phone in the middle, so I can stretch my thumb down to reach the bottom
Do you perhaps have large hands?
In order to stretch my thumb around the whole screen like you, I have loosen my grip on the phone to the last knuckle, and risk dropping it. When I use a pop socket that risk is mitigated
surprised to see a small sub count ! Fantastic editing and lovely topic!! Just subscribed :D
Very well put together video. I still love getting the biggest phone every year.
Wonderful video, great quality. I hope you keep at it.
Windows Phone used to do the one-handed usability thing you mentioned by employing extra big header text on apps, that would get dismissed when you scrolled down. They did away with that in time (8.1 and 10 come to mind), but even back when 4" screens were the norm they thought of it.
WP was so ahead of his time, if only app devs supported it better...
On many phones there is a one-handed mode. You swipe downwards on the navigation pill and the entire screen slides down, making the top of the screen accessible
i don't think it was out at the time of this video, but there is the ability to pull down the screen now. it moves the entire screen down so you can reach things at the top before it springs back up.
This deserves way more views... Then I realized that the only people who found it are the few who try to one-hand their phones.
Regarding your solution, Windows Phone 8.1 did exactly what you’re proposing and more. All interactions are done by swiping between pages or touching something at the bottom of the screen. It allowed people to use the then-big Lumia 1520 single-handedly with ease
With Android to get the control centre you can change a setting so when you swipe down on the home screen it brings up the control centre! It’s so handy!
I use a Samsung s10e and its 5.8” I’ve been told that its a small phone however I actually struggle to use it one handed because I can’t reach over to the other side with my thumb. I find I have to move the phone down my hand to reach the top sometimes.
Good news my friend as an android user you have a TON of 3rd party options for fixing these issues. I have posted this a few times but here is my copy pasted rant with some cool features you might benefit from.
I run a Galaxy S21 Ultra for my daily driver and I have an iPhone SE that was issued to me by my job for my work cell. The iPhone feels so cumbersome and unwieldy (despite having a markedly smaller screen) because I can't make changes to the UI to accommodate my single handed, right hand dominant use of the phone. There are two HUGE issues that I have ran into with the design on the iPhone from a one handed operation standpoint. 1) Why is the back button for every application in the absolute worst place imaginable. They don't just place it at the top of the phone, but the TOP LEFT. The vast majority of users are right handed and putting anything requiring frequent interaction at the top of the phone is already just bad design, but the top LEFT? Literally unforgivable in my opinion. The devs responsible should be canned. 2) The inability to place icons where you want them on the home screen without filling the screen with useless stuff since apps MUST populate from the, again, TOP LEFT and then build rows from left to right top to bottom.
There are solutions for this if you Jailbreak the iPhone, but being company property that isn't happening for me. However, on my android phone I use nova launcher. This launcher lets me place icons wherever I want them and so I have my 1st page with 1 single icon for my phone, and my 2nd page with 2 columns of icons starting at the bottom right and stacking 5 rows tall. These icons are mostly folders which are organized by application type (Video, Social, Music, Games, Images, Messaging) as well as 2 individual apps (Iceraven Web Browser and the Camera). I can easily select any one of these apps/folders and their contents with my thumb without stretching or reaching to get to them. Nova also lets you customize your gestures while on a home screen so I have mine set that swiping down ANYWHERE on the home screen opens my notification shade, and swiping up opens my app drawer. Also NONE of this requires any kind of root/jailbreak and the installation of a new launcher is natively supported on every Android.
In the app drawer unlike iOS and its garbage automatic sorting, I am able to manually sort everything into different pages, and folders within those pages if I so wish. For mine I have chosen to create 4 pages (Media/Messages, Productivity, Lifestyle, and Phone Management). Media and messaging has the things you would expect Apps related to either entertainment, or communication. Productivity is apps like my office applications, calculator, maps, etc. Lifestyle are things like food apps, finance apps, shopping apps, my car insurance, etc. And finally, phone management is basically where I keep all of my settings applications, file explorer, automation tools, customization tools etc.
Another nice feature is while I am inside my app drawer if I swipe down (again from anywhere on the screen) it opens up a search and automatically places the cursor in that search with my keyboard opened up. So I can quickly find ANYTHING I am looking for including hidden apps. (Did I mention you can also straight up hide apps if you don't want to see them or interact with them infrequently another SUPER BASIC feature that is missing from iOS)
All of this has helped quite a bit but it only scratches the surface of how much better things are on my android for one handed operation. Enter "One Hand Operation +". This app lets you set up zones on either side of your phone where you can bind gestures for navigation. On my phone I have it set up so that swiping back anywhere on the right hand edge of the screen sends the back command, swiping back and up, then holding for a second triggers the recent apps popup, and the same gesture but down triggers the home command. For the bottom 10% of the screen edge I have it set so that swiping back still triggers the back command, but swiping back and up/down triggers my google assistant.
With One Hand Operation + and Nova Launcher I am able to operate about 97% of my phones features with one hand VERY comfortably and the only times I ever have to reach any more are when a specific application has opted to design a part of its interface to be crap. I also switched to Iceraven (a Firefox offshoot) a while back for 2 reasons. 1) Support for extensions such as uBlock on a mobile browser, and 2) the search bar and all of its important user interface controls are AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PHONE.
Phones do not need to get smaller, and we don't need to waste half the screen with title cards. Phone manufacturers and software developers just need to build better controls as defaults and realize that thumbs are not a foot long. Nothing important should be out of reach, but that doesn't mean everything needs to be shoved to the bottom of the screen either. I would also venture that most people using their phones in a cradle hold are not doing so because it is how they WANT to use their phone, but it is because phone design has been so bad so long that they have just gotten used to doing it that way. No one responsible for out of the box experiences has stepped back since the first iPhone and asked, "Is this really the best way to design our UX?" The Play store is full of launchers that have tried to tackle these issues and apps to make navigation easier. But they are all 3rd party software which require user installation. It's time that these mega corporations realize that their UI's are poorly designed bunk and whoever is responsible for them staying stagnant for the last decade and a half needs to be canned.
Insane quality for such a small channel! Mad underrated bro! :D
I feel like the main reason I've ever wanted one of these things is because i saw somebody who had one with a roulette wheel on the back and could spin their phone
I still have and use my iPhone 5s - even got the battery replaced for the first time last year. Even on this phone it’s annoying to reach anything on the top-right corner with my left thumb. As phones have become comically larger, I’ve kept passing up on getting a new one due to the increasingly nonsensical size.
I think keeping as much of the direct interface towards the bottom like you said is smart. You don’t even have to turn the top space into a blank header - simply occupy that space with all the information that can’t be directly interacted with.
Also, whenever I hold the phone, it’s with my left hand. My index finger points to the top-right corner, the middle and ring fingers cradle the back and peek out from behind on the other side, and my little finger supports the bottom edge of the phone. When typing, I use my left thumb and my right middle finger.
Yep. Me too.
God, I wish I still had my 5s. It was truly the perfect size compared to 6s/8/SE size I have now. And even still, when I’m looking for phones, that’s apparently considered small?!?!
@@libbybollinger5901 yeah I had to give up my 5s not too long ago. It couldn’t update the OS any more, which meant I couldn’t update apps anymore, thus resulting in many apps saying I couldn’t use them until I updated. Ended up getting an SE2, and yeah it’s just big enough to be annoying at times.
I’m surprised not many people have mentioned the gesture on iPhones that slides the entire screen down towards your thumb
Because he shows it in the video and calls it out for what it is, a garbage bandaid feature that doesn't address the issue of fixing a UX problem these phones all suffer from. I mentioned this in a few comments elsewhere but it is just much easier to copy paste the rant so here it is...
I run a Galaxy S21 Ultra for my daily driver and I have an iPhone SE that was issued to me by my job for my work cell. The iPhone feels so cumbersome and unwieldy (despite having a markedly smaller screen) because I can't make changes to the UI to accommodate my single handed, right hand dominant use of the phone. There are two HUGE issues that I have ran into with the design on the iPhone from a one handed operation standpoint. 1) Why is the back button for every application in the absolute worst place imaginable. They don't just place it at the top of the phone, but the TOP LEFT. The vast majority of users are right handed and putting anything requiring frequent interaction at the top of the phone is already just bad design, but the top LEFT? Literally unforgivable in my opinion. The devs responsible should be canned. 2) The inability to place icons where you want them on the home screen without filling the screen with useless stuff since apps MUST populate from the, again, TOP LEFT and then build rows from left to right top to bottom.
There are solutions for this if you Jailbreak the iPhone, but being company property that isn't happening for me. However, on my android phone I use nova launcher. This launcher lets me place icons wherever I want them and so I have my 1st page with 1 single icon for my phone, and my 2nd page with 2 columns of icons starting at the bottom right and stacking 5 rows tall. These icons are mostly folders which are organized by application type (Video, Social, Music, Games, Images, Messaging) as well as 2 individual apps (Iceraven Web Browser and the Camera). I can easily select any one of these apps/folders and their contents with my thumb without stretching or reaching to get to them. Nova also lets you customize your gestures while on a home screen so I have mine set that swiping down ANYWHERE on the home screen opens my notification shade, and swiping up opens my app drawer. Also NONE of this requires any kind of root/jailbreak and the installation of a new launcher is natively supported on every Android.
In the app drawer unlike iOS and its garbage automatic sorting, I am able to manually sort everything into different pages, and folders within those pages if I so wish. For mine I have chosen to create 4 pages (Media/Messages, Productivity, Lifestyle, and Phone Management). Media and messaging has the things you would expect Apps related to either entertainment, or communication. Productivity is apps like my office applications, calculator, maps, etc. Lifestyle are things like food apps, finance apps, shopping apps, my car insurance, etc. And finally, phone management is basically where I keep all of my settings applications, file explorer, automation tools, customization tools etc.
Another nice feature is while I am inside my app drawer if I swipe down (again from anywhere on the screen) it opens up a search and automatically places the cursor in that search with my keyboard opened up. So I can quickly find ANYTHING I am looking for including hidden apps. (Did I mention you can also straight up hide apps if you don't want to see them or interact with them infrequently another SUPER BASIC feature that is missing from iOS)
All of this has helped quite a bit but it only scratches the surface of how much better things are on my android for one handed operation. Enter "One Hand Operation +". This app lets you set up zones on either side of your phone where you can bind gestures for navigation. On my phone I have it set up so that swiping back anywhere on the right hand edge of the screen sends the back command, swiping back and up, then holding for a second triggers the recent apps popup, and the same gesture but down triggers the home command. For the bottom 10% of the screen edge I have it set so that swiping back still triggers the back command, but swiping back and up/down triggers my google assistant.
With One Hand Operation + and Nova Launcher I am able to operate about 97% of my phones features with one hand VERY comfortably and the only times I ever have to reach any more are when a specific application has opted to design a part of its interface to be crap. I also switched to Iceraven (a Firefox offshoot) a while back for 2 reasons. 1) Support for extensions such as uBlock on a mobile browser, and 2) the search bar and all of its important user interface controls are AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PHONE.
Phones do not need to get smaller, and we don't need to waste half the screen with title cards. Phone manufacturers and software developers just need to build better controls as defaults and realize that thumbs are not a foot long. Nothing important should be out of reach, but that doesn't mean everything needs to be shoved to the bottom of the screen either. I would also venture that most people using their phones in a cradle hold are not doing so because it is how they WANT to use their phone, but it is because phone design has been so bad so long that they have just gotten used to doing it that way. No one responsible for out of the box experiences has stepped back since the first iPhone and asked, "Is this really the best way to design our UX?" The Play store is full of launchers that have tried to tackle these issues and apps to make navigation easier. But they are all 3rd party software which require user installation. It's time that these mega corporations realize that their UI's are poorly designed bunk and whoever is responsible for them staying stagnant for the last decade and a half needs to be canned.
Amazing articulation of content. Makes a lot of sense. Quality of content, examples given and suggestions for potential solutions are fabulous.
I wish I can tag Apple here to get them to see this video.
Wow, this content is so good! Great analysis.
I love your design videos. I love that in Spotify you can tap the search button and it brings up the search page, and if you tap it again it brings up the search bar eliminating the need to move at all. This small touch should be brought to every app.
I got chills when you said the ipod touch wheel, that was the greatest input device in history, hands down, no questions asked. So easy and seamless.
This video is a masterpiece. oh my god
Very well-crafted argument and presentation. Not entirely sold on the proposed solution, but I appreciate you throwing one out there!
Excellent Video my man!!! Facts !!!
Also Phones made of Glass sure feel good in your hand for some reason ( But its a Money Grab the more fragile they make them the more people break them and the more people buy)
My ideal phone is one of those Japanese flip phones that run android and have a touch sensitive physical key-pad.
I only really use my phone for music and making calls, so it wouldn't be too bad for me. I'd even be fine with carrying a separate device for music playing.
I stayed with an iPhone SE for so long for this reason. When I did get a new phone which is now too big for comfortable one-handing, I chose a phone based on video watching
Unfortunately, this is still relevant in 2022. Great, thoughtful videos!
yes! i am still using the original iPhone SE and it's been infuriating that more apps are designed with bigger screens in mind. because screens have been getting bigger, some apps don't scale down well on my screen :(
i just replaced the battery on this phone and don't plan on replacing it until apple inevitably slows it down more lol
I remember when I purchased the first gen SE when it first came out. By that time, I had upgraded from the 5 to the 6. I used the 6 until it literally started falling apart and upgraded to the SE. by this time, I couldn’t Take the smaller screen on the se, so i upgraded to 6s. Since then, I’ve had the 8 series (regular and plus model), XR, 11 and now the 13 pro max. Funny thing is, about a month ago I purchased an SE for cheap on eBay and I use it as my “disconnect” phone - only close family and friends have the number and it’s a nice change of view from a big screen to small AND I appreciate the comfort of a smaller build now. I say all of this to say, had the SE came out prior to the 6 series, I would’ve definitely stuck with a smaller phone.
I just tried the pixel 6 demo at the store and that thing is WAY too big. I hate the new edge to edge trend, too. My moto x4 is perfect size-wise, and the newer phones are not only 0.25 to 0.5 inches taller and less likely to fit in my purse or a pocket, but the screens are like an inch or more taller than the moto x4 screen. Are the designers considering women or people with smaller hands? Somehow I'm guessing the designers are men...
I hate hate hate the fact that my new phone does not fit into most of my pockets or usual purses. I can't put anything else in my purse if I'm carrying my phone.
This video has something I was going to suggest after watching the 2 parts of Mac OS Design Language, and it's how external elements globally affect or influence digital product design.
Glad to find this video going from iOS to the iPod, to Samsung's One UI.
A rich watching experience.
My guess is that most of this is solved with apple’s ar lenses, otherwise - based on the major engineers’ departure to Humane as well as Apple’s general reluctance to maintain a small form factor in the short term - they’re abandoning some of their most impactful design philosophies.
Fantastic video. I'm a designer and I learned a thing or two. Please make more!
Oh man, the Samsung one ui big headers are so good I've never even noticed them! Talk about intuitive.
Incredble content.Everything is is though through and elegant. I feel a little silly that I never hand thought about phones and input in such way, but now it seems obvious. Also that bit with eating was executed perfectly,I laughed out loud
Thanks for addressing this problem. No one seems to be talking about it. And it bothers the shit out of me
If I could like this 100 times I would. Keep it up👍
this video feels so close to parody , i love it
he had the same phone and case as I did. Randomly saw this years after.
I loved this video! I need to use a bigger phone because I have really bad eyesight. The larger screen has been a godsend for that reason, but I've dropped my phone so many times and it's so frustrating. I definitely have to get a popsocket, but I do wish there was a more accessible way to navigate on a larger screen. Love your idea!
So glad that with the 12 apple went back to having a small option, I’d been clinging to my iPhone six that whole time bc they didn’t release anything I could reach or comfortably hold for years. I love my 12 mini so much
On Android you can often simply slide down from the middle of the screen and open the search bar with the keyboard open. With gestures you can go to the previous page or go to open apps or to the home page from the bottom of the screen.
One of the favorite things on my phone is the shake it fast to turn the flashlight on
I didn’t know about backtap; thank you! I learned a lot now 😂 I like my big phone, but I definitely understand why lots don’t enjoy it
I’ve got an iPhone SE and the small form factor is easily my favorite part. Super comfortable to hold and use.
3:30 gotta love that song! glad to see it get some more exposure
this video needs more views. well done!
I just watched this video; it was very good and has too little views.