Can’t reach across the Galaxy Note 3’s enormous screen? Samsung’s got a software trick to help you out
We may live in a world of 6.3 to 6.4-inch smartphones, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 3’s 5.7-incher is still pretty big. And getting around it using only your thumb can be a challenge. Samsung has always offered “one-handed mode” software tricks on the Note series — for example, letting you shrink and rearrange the keyboard, dialer, and other areas for easier thumbing.
On the Galaxy Note 3, though, it’s taken this to an all-new level. The new “Use for all screens” option, found under “Settings > Controls > One-handed operation,” lets you shrink the entire display in to a moveable, resizable window a fraction of the screen’s true size. Crazy!
Once enabled, you can activate this “windowed” mode by swiping in an arrow shape from the edge of the screen. Most apps work just fine in this shrunken-down view, though some, including the camera, bump you back to fullscreen mode. The window snaps in whichever side you perform the gesture, and you can move it around and resize if you want.
While it sounds ridiculous, there’s an insane logic to Samsung’s approach here. The gesture is easy to perform, letting you snap in and out of this shrunken view pretty quickly. Take a closer look in the video above; we’ve also got the gesture in animated GIF form for you down below.
