Why iPhone Screen Comes Down? How To Turn On Reachability Feature In iPhone

The iPhone Reachability Feature

What Is Reachability?

If your iPhones screen has ever dropped down to the bottom half of the display area, you probably wondered if it was a feature or a bug. It’s actually an Accessibility called Reachabilty feature that exists for a very important reason.

The One Handed Mode History

Back when Steve Jobs was CEO of Apple, he believed that a smartphone should be usable one-handed. In fact, they could’ve given the original iPhone with a larger display, but Jobs and his design team decided that going too big made the device cumbersome. So the iPhone’s display stayed 3.5 inches for much longer than its competition. In fact, after just three years, Android devices like the Samsung Vibrant were featuring displays up to 

four inches. But Apple refused to increase their display until the iPhone 5 in 2012.They argued that by increasing the display height without increasing it’s width, still made the device easy to use one-handed. But it was too little too late. 

Android phones had already redefined big. The Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S 3 were two of the most popular smartphones in 2012. 

Both released before the iPhone 5, and featuring five-and-a-half-inch displays. The 6 and 6 Plus, released in 2014. Their 4.7- and 5.5-inch displays could finally compete.

As the devices were getting bigger there was no way to keep using it one handed. There was no way to reach your thumb to the top of the display without shifting the device in your hand. So Apple solved the problem with a software feature called Reachability. 

By double-tapping the home button, the upper half of the display’s content area would drop down to the lower half. Allowing users to reach buttons one-handed. 

After making a selection, the display automatically moved back up. 

This feature is still around today, except it’s activated by swiping down from the Home Bar.

But if it’s something you find annoying, it can always be turned off in the accessibility settings

How to enable Reachability

• Launch Settings from your Home screen.
• Scroll down and tap Accessibility.

• Select Touch under the Physical and Motor section.
• Set the toggle next to Reachability to the green on position.

How to use Reachability on iPhone without Home Button

• Swipe down on the bottom edge of the screen.
• Swipe up on the bottom edge of the screen or tap the blank space at the top of the screen to return to full screen. Reachability will reset itself after a few seconds if you don't touch anything.

How to use Reachability on iPhones with a Home Button

• Lightly Double-tap (don't click) the Home button when you're on a screen you'd like to use with Reachability.
• Lightly Double-tap the Home button again or tap the blank spaceat the top of the screen to return to full screen. Reachability will reset itself after a few seconds if you don't touch anything.