Google’s annual Android updates almost always include some features that manufacturers have already implemented in their own device software. Some recent examples include screen capture and scheduled dark mode in Android 11, and now the upcoming Android 12 update is set to add another long-awaited feature: one-handed mode.
If you are not familiar with one-handed mode, it is a feature on some Android skins (like Samsung’s One UI) that causes the screen to shrink to one corner of the device. It allows you to reach all the corners of the screen more easily – something that was lost during the rise of giant telephones over the past few years.
One-handed mode on One UI 3.0
XDA Developers reports that Google is developing a one-handed mode in the code repositories for AOSP (the open source code base of Android). The exact implementation details are not yet clear, but Google’s current code reduces the screen to 40% of normal size, and can be activated using gestures or the three-button navigation bar.
At the moment, it is also unclear whether the one-handed mode will be visible in the Settings for all devices, or whether it should decide to the device manufacturers (such as the desktop mode in Android 10).
