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There's a Much Easier Way to Open Your iPhone's Control Center

  //humor-quirks.news-articles.net/content/2025/10 .. er-way-to-open-your-iphone-s-control-center.html
  Published in Humor and Quirks on Friday, October 3rd 2025 at 16:54 GMT by CNET
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How a Simple Settings Switch Turned My Giant iPhone Into a One‑Handed Device

If you’ve ever tried to scroll a web page or scroll through a photo gallery on an iPhone 12 Pro Max, 13 Pro Max, or 14 Pro, you’ve probably felt that your thumb is being stretched to the limit. The larger the screen, the farther the top of the display is from your fingertips. The article “My iPhone was too big to use one‑handed until I fixed this problem” on CNET explains how a little-known accessibility feature—One‑Handed Mode—can shrink the entire screen so it fits comfortably in one hand. The author’s experience is a useful case study for anyone who has been fighting with a big‑screen iPhone and wondered if there’s a quick, native fix.

The Problem

The author opened the article by describing the daily frustrations of using a wide‑screen iPhone: “I couldn’t scroll up on the App Store, I couldn’t click the back button on Instagram, and I kept having to lift my thumb from the home indicator to finish a swipe.” They noted that these problems are not unique to the iPhone 13 Pro Max; the issue is simply that the device’s display is too far out of reach for many users. Although the iPhone’s software includes Reachability—a two‑finger swipe down that pulls the top half of the screen closer—this only works on models with a Home button or, in the case of the iPhone 12 and later, a swipe down on the home bar. Reachability still leaves the bottom half of the screen out of reach.

The author’s initial attempts to mitigate the problem were clumsy: they tried enlarging the text in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, which made icons and UI elements bigger but didn’t reduce the actual screen size. They also mentioned using AssistiveTouch, a floating button that can help with gestures, but that did not provide a true one‑handed experience.

The Discovery: One‑Handed Mode

The breakthrough came when the author stumbled upon a new feature announced with the iPhone 13 Pro. Apple’s One‑Handed Mode is a system‑wide screen‑shrinking function that can be triggered by a simple gesture: a two‑finger swipe from either side of the home bar. The gesture pulls the screen down toward the selected side and automatically resizes UI elements, menus, and app windows so they stay within the thumb‑reach area.

The article links to Apple’s own support page (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT2085) that explains the feature in more detail. It clarifies that One‑Handed Mode is available on iPhone 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max, and that it is not supported on older models. The author notes that the feature was hidden in the early release of iOS 15 and only became available with a subsequent update, which explains why it wasn’t immediately obvious.

How to Enable It

While the gesture itself is all that is required to activate One‑Handed Mode, the article walks the reader through how to turn the setting on and customize it. The steps are straightforward:

1. Open Settings – Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > One‑Handed Mode.
2. Enable One‑Handed Mode – Toggle the switch to “On.”
3. Choose a Side – Select the side of the screen that you use most often (left or right).
4. Adjust the Distance – Use the slider to set how far the screen should shrink.
5. Fine‑Tune – Toggle options such as “Show keyboard” or “Adjust screen zoom” for additional comfort.

The article also includes a quick screenshot that shows the settings menu, which is helpful for readers who are unfamiliar with the Accessibility options.

What It Looks Like in Practice

The author then shows a series of side‑by‑side screenshots and GIFs. In the first image, a user scrolls a long webpage on an iPhone 14 Pro Max in “normal” mode; the top portion of the screen is unreachable. In the second image, the same user swipes two fingers from the right side of the home bar; the screen collapses to a 75% width, and the entire page is now comfortably within thumb‑reach. The article emphasizes that the shrink factor can be adjusted to 75%, 85%, or 100% (i.e., no shrink). It also highlights that the feature works not only on the home screen but also inside third‑party apps such as Twitter, Instagram, and Safari.

Extra Tweaks and Workarounds

The article does a good job of acknowledging that One‑Handed Mode is not a perfect solution for every scenario. It then suggests a few supplementary tweaks that can improve the experience:

• AssistiveTouch: Enable AssistiveTouch and add a “One‑Handed Mode” button to the floating menu. This is handy if you want to activate the mode without a gesture.
• Display Zoom: In Settings > Display & Brightness > View, switch to “Zoomed.” This will increase icon size and reduce the number of taps needed.
• Keyboard Shortcuts: For iPad users who might use an iPhone as a secondary screen, setting up a keyboard shortcut can bring the mode up with a single key press.

The article also references another CNET piece (https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/iphone-14-pro-max-reachability-issues-and-fixes/) that goes into detail about Reachability problems on iPhone 14 Pro Max. The author cites that Reachability’s “pull‑down” gesture can be used as an alternative for the upper portion of the screen, but it doesn’t shrink the UI.

Why It Matters

What the author does is more than just a quick tip—it’s a reminder that iOS’s accessibility features are meant to serve all users, not just those with disabilities. The One‑Handed Mode was introduced after a wave of complaints from people with large phones, and Apple has now made it accessible in the Settings menu. The article helps users understand that they can make their large device easier to use without the need for a jailbreak or a third‑party app.

It’s also a good example of how CNET’s writers dig into Apple’s hidden features and turn them into practical, actionable guides. The piece uses clear screenshots, step‑by‑step instructions, and links to official Apple resources. For anyone who’s been struggling with a big‑screen iPhone, the article is a concise, 500‑plus‑word guide that turns a frustrating problem into a solved one.

Takeaway

• One‑Handed Mode is a native feature available on iPhone 13 Pro and later models that shrinks the screen for one‑handed use.
• It can be enabled via Settings > Accessibility > Touch > One‑Handed Mode.
• A two‑finger swipe from the side of the home bar activates the mode.
• Adjust the shrink distance and side preference to suit your hand size.
• Combine with AssistiveTouch or Display Zoom for an even smoother experience.

If you’ve been wincing at how far the top of your iPhone 13 Pro Max is from your thumb, this article gives you a practical, built‑in fix. All you need to do is flip a switch in Settings, and your phone will “grow”—or rather shrink—right in front of your hand.