Top 7 Best Galaxy S10/S10 Plus One-Handed Mode Tricks to Tame the Big Screen

The phones are getting taller by the day. Just compare the size of the old iPhone 5S to the new Galaxy S10 Plus. The difference is massive. Though the bigger screen boosts the movie watching experience by many folds, it also bundles a major issue: one-handed use.

Phones like the Galaxy S10 and the S10 Plus are so tall that operating with a single hand is next to impossible. And even if you can somehow manage it, you run the risk of losing the grip and dropping it.

Thankfully, there are a few workarounds in place to get your work going. The Samsung One UI design accommodates one-handed operation, but it is not enough. With the correct tricks for one-handed mode, you can easily tame the big screen of the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus.

Let’s take a look.

1. Enable One-Handed Mode

One of the first tasks that I did was to activate the conventional one-handed mode. You can either tap on the home screen thrice or swipe up diagonally from the corners. That will shrink the screen, thus making it easy to work.

But before you do so, you’d need to enable it manually. To do so, search for ‘one-handed’ in Finder, tap on settings card, and toggle the switch.

Alternatively, you can go to Settings > Motions and gestures. Choose a mode between Gesture or Button, and get going.

The conventional one-handed mode is especially when you are typing or while using your phone in crowded scenarios.

2. Check Out One Hand Operation + App

One Hand Operation + is an app by Samsung built to customize the navigation gestures further. This one is useful for those who find it difficult to reach the bottom half of the phone.

It brings in two customizable handles on each side of the phone, and you can perform basic actions such as going back, launching the previous app, opening the recents menu by swiping these handles.

As mentioned above, pretty much everything about these handles can be customized, right down to the transparency levels and the height of the handles. For now, each handle supports three gestures — diagonal up, horizontal, and diagonal down.

To set the gestures, open a handle and add an action. You can even add Long Swipe gestures and customize the same.

Quite naturally, getting used to these new gestures will need its share of sweet time. But once you master it, navigating the tall screen of the Galaxy S10 will be a child’s play.

At the same time, you’d want to set the handles a little lower (or higher) so that you do not confuse them with the Edge Handles.

Download One Hand Operation +

Cool Tip

3. Get the Samsung Browser Beta

The last time I attempted to type an URL on Chrome for Android while lying down, the phone fell on my face — all thanks due to the placement of the address bar.

Chrome for Android is testing a bottom tab switcher, so you can give some other browsers a shot in the mean time. Until then, One of the best browsers for the job is Samsung Internet Beta. This browser wraps important features such as Tab switcher, Home, and menu at the bottom of the UI.

A slightly similar browser, in terms of one-handed use, is the Opera Touch browser. Opera designed this app primarily for one-handed use.

But at the end of the day, both these apps have the address bar at the top of the page.

If you think that’s inconvenient, you can check out the OH Browser. Along with the other features, it places the address bar at the bottom. Thereby the browser makes it incredibly convenient to type addresses or site names.

Download OH Browser

Download Opera Touch

Download Samsung Internet Beta

Did You Know

4. Tweak Home Screen for Notification Panel

Are you finding it difficult to reach the notification panel? Wouldn’t it be better if a downward swipe on the home screen brought displayed all the notifications? Well, it seems there is a way to enable the said settings.

To do so, long-press on the home screen and tap on Home screen settings. Next, toggle the switch for Quick-open notification panel.

Cool Tip: Enable glide typing on your keyboard to spell out words faster and accurately. Most keyboards like Gboard, SwiftKey

5. Switch the Google Search bar to the Bottom

Another small change which you can make is switching the position of the Google Search bar. The bar is usually placed at the middle of the screen of Samsung phones by default.

All you have to do is long-press on it and drag it to the bottom. That way you can simply tap on it and begin typing whenever you have to search for something. Add a friendly browser and lay to rest worries about your phone falling down or stretching your finger.

6. Tweak Edge Handles

Another good one-handed hack is to organize the Edge screen’s handles as per your convenience. It is usually placed at the right edge of the screen by default. Thankfully, all these can be easily customized.

To do so, pull out the Edge screen, tap on the Settings icon at the lower-left screen and tap on the three-dot icon at the top and select Edge panel handle.

Here, you can change the position, transparency, side as well as the size of the handle.

At the same time, you can also reorder the panels as per your convenience. To do so, go back a page, tap on the three-dot icon again and select Reorder.

Cool Tip:

7. Get the Good Lock App

Samsung Good Lock app works flawlessly with the Galaxy S10. Once downloaded, you can customize your lock screen and also make it usable with a single hand — thanks to features like Mini Mode and Notification Popup.

The features are pretty much self-explanatory. While the first one shrinks the Overview Selection menu, the other lets you view notifications in a resizeable window.

To enable these features, first install the Good Lock app and then install the individual module such as Task Changer and QuickStar.

To activate Mini Mode, open Task Changer and toggle the switch for it. While you are on it, you can also explore the Layout types. At the same time, navigate to the QuickStar and activate Notification Popup Button.

That will show up a button in the notification bubble. When tapped, it’ll open the notifications in a resizeable window.

Note:

Download Good Lock

Be the Galaxy S10 Power User

Last but not least, do get a textured phone case, so that the next time when you’re juggling multiple tasks with a single hand, there’s something to help you grip your phone better. A stitch in time saves nine, they say.

Next Up: Do you enjoy the premium feel and finesse of the leather cases? Check out some well-textured leather cases for the Galaxy S10/S10 Plus.