After class of resistance , Apple ’s iPhone 6 proclamation last workweek formally signal the Dawn of the Era of Huge Screens .
And it ’s going to crash into existence in a big path . Just this Monday , Apple announce that they ’d sold over four million pre - ordersfor the phones the opening dark of pre - orders . In only one night , they sold almost one-half of what they sold the full opening weekend last year for iPhone 5s and 5c .
So it ’s looking like the 3.5″ and 4″ silver screen of yore will bulge out their inevitable decline very quickly . That means that those of us who ’ve have prosperous construction apps , reactive website and mobile - optimized web views with the old ways in mind have some learning to do ( myself included ) .
The decline is already in motion . Adobe ’s 2014 Mobile Benchmark Reportclaims that mobile browse among phones with 4″ screen or smaller is down by 11 % .
That intend that memorise how to design for thumbs is now more of import than ever . Luckily , it help that these phone video display sizes are going to be practically universal . Acursory examinationof the most popular Android screen sizing points to arange of 5.1″ and 5.7″.
Apple ’s change will make our lifetime easier as smaller screen sizes die off . But only if we pick up to adapt our designs .
If not , the futurity is locomote to be reasonably painful for those thumbs .
This is especially important for those of us who ’ve only been build iOS apps . All those design tradeoffs we thought we never had to worry about are suddenly properly here in front of us — in an avalanche of pre - orders .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O99m7lebirE
Designing for thumbs?
What does it mean to design for thumbs ? It means building user interface that are the most comfortable to use within our thumb ’s raw , sweeping electric discharge .
But this gets complicated . We unconsciously adjust the way we hold our phones to attain certain control in various areas of the screen . During any given daylight , I ’ll wager that you stretch your grip , choke up on the phone , or angle it in way that make extend to difficult arena easier .
But we have to start somewhere . Research suggests that most of us hold our phone in the next way — with the bottom of the pollex anchored on the scummy - ripe - hand corner :
This laying claim amount froma study that mobile expert Steve Hoober conductedwith 1,333 hoi polloi early on last yr . He discovered that hoi polloi held their phones in the undermentioned ways :
one handed : 49 %
cradle : 36 %
two handed : 15 %
Handedness figures were also instructive :
good thumb on the covert : 67 %
leave thumb on the silver screen : 33 %
Hoober observe that left - handedness frame in the population are around 10 % . So the observe higher rate of left-hand - handed use could be correlated with masses doing other thing at the same meter — smoking , free a wheel , drinking coffee , eating currywurst , etc .
create by Luke Wroblewski
The Thumb Zone
The Thumb Zone is a heat mathematical function of sort . It ’s a best surmise for how easy it is for our thumb to water faucet areas on a phone ’s screenland .
Let ’s utilise Hoober ’s research to create a Thumb Zone function representing what seems to be the most common use casing :
one - handed use
right quarter round on the sieve
pollex anchored in the lower - good - manus corner
Here ’s the Thumb Zone oestrus single-valued function applied to every iPhone exhibit sizing since 2007 :
Here ’s a more direct equivalence of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus next to each other :
You ’ll notice that the “ secure ” green geographical zone stays more or less the same ( more on why the iPhone 6 Plus is different in a second ) . That ’s because our thumbs do n’t as if by magic surmount with the screen size . And that ’s also unfortunate , because I loved Dhalsim in Street Fighter as a kid .
But what changes is the filmy amount of “ Ow ” place , which becomes startlingly apparent with the iPhone 6 Plus .
Furthermore , you ’ll notice how the shape of the “ Natural ” zone change for the iPhone 6 Plus . That ’s because it requires a dissimilar type of adhesive friction due to its size , using your pinky finger as a stabiliser . It surprised me how different the experience was .
A note : my thumb does n’t attain fully across the phone ’s screen . Maybe you have bigger hands than I do . So terminal figure and conditions certainly enforce .
Choking up
allow ’s analyze how the Thumb Zones modify when you shift your traction . Sometimes you might be in a state of affairs where it ’s easier to tap the phone with your pollex ’s anchor at the vertical midpoint .
Here ’s an illustration of this in action for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus :
comment how the iPhone 6 Plus actually gains natural pollex space because of its silver screen size . By comparability , the iPhone 6 just run away out of substantial estate .
Reachability
Choking up might not be necessary , though , with iOS 8 ’s “ Reachability ” feature of speech . ( That is if Apple takes the opportunity to learn people about its existence ) . By double - tapping the plate button ( not the same as “ clicking ” to exhibit running apps ) , iOS will advertise the top of the cover down within one ’s grasp .
Here ’s a demo of Reachability :
And here ’s how Reachability look with the Thumb Zone overlie on the iPhone 6 Plus . comment anything ?
Yes , Apple ’s demonstration images places the quarter round in precisely the “ lifelike ” zone .
Another observation on Reachability , as direct out byJohn Gruber : “ Reachability on the 6 Plus moves things further down the display , percentage - wise , than it does on the 6 — it ’s all about moving the top of the display to a typical thumb ’s duration from the bottom of the gadget . ”
Here ’s that in action :
What’s it all mean?
Mobile screen size of it on the whole are becoming more interchangeable , and that ’s a serious thing . But it also mean that we ca n’t just treat screens in the 5.5″ range just as a scaled - up version of a small headphone . traction completely vary , and with that , your interface might call for to do so , as well .
I think prototyping will become even more important . So if you have n’t jumped on that train , now ’s the prison term . ( PS — I ’m launchingXcode for Designersnext workweek , which teaches clothes designer how to build interactive image in Xcode in less than a week . It ’s chock - full of videos and has a really great pre - launch deduction bunk the right way now . Get on the list if you ’re at all concerned . )
Want a copy of the Thumb Zone diagram I line for these screenshots ? You ’re in luck . you could download them as individual JPGshere . Hopefully this helps with your current project . If you experience any value out of it , I ’d be thankful if you share it . you may squeeze it now with one clink .
Scott Hurffhas been building WWW and fluid product for over 15 years . Currently Head of Product at Kleiner Perkins - stake Tappy , he also instruct design prototyping in bothQuartz ComposerandXcode , and is writing “ How ware Designers Work , ” a book that aim to understand how some of the man ’s most gifted product designers do their jobs .
AppleiPhoneiPhone 6 Plus
Daily Newsletter
Get the good tech , science , and culture news in your inbox daily .
News from the future , delivered to your present tense .
You May Also Like
