Google is finally implementing a feature that has been in third-party firmware for a long time, but will do it in its simplest form.
Modern smartphones with the growth of screen diagonals only increase in size – this has been happening for many years. It became extremely difficult to hold them in hand and control the touch interface on large 6-inch panels, but manufacturers have found a solution in the form of a zoom function. IOS has long had the ability to slide the screen down for comfortable finger access to the top elements. Now something similar will appear in Android 12. The development of a one-handed control mode was announced by the XDA-Developers portal.
One-handed control is planned to be included in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which means the function will not be exclusive to Android 12 and any OEM will be able to access it. Currently, the exact implementation remains unknown – it is assumed that with the help of the innovation, users will be able to reduce the screen size by up to 40% by placing a small window in the right or left half. By the way, this has long been in third-party firmware from Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and other companies.
There are two ways to start the mode: swiping up from one of the corners of the screen while holding down the press in case of gesture control, and swiping to the right or left on the navigation bar if using the classic navigation buttons. It is noteworthy that Huawei developers previously offered Google their version of the function for adding to the AOSP, but it was rejected for unknown reasons.
The official Android 12 developer preview is expected to take place shortly. The next version of the operating system will also add other convenient features that users have been waiting for much earlier. These include: creating long screenshots, a more intuitive split screen for using two applications at the same time, quickly transferring a password from a Wi-Fi network to a Bluetooth device nearby, and more.
