I was super excited to get my iPhone XS Max, so much so that I preordered it. But when I got my giant slab of a phone, I realized that its phablet size carried one downside: opening Control Center.
Yes, the iPhone XS Max is just as huge as my old iPhone 8 Plus, but because it dropped the home button, the new phone requires you reach a digit up to the top right corner. In my case, this forces my thumb to scale from the bottom left corner (where it rests) to the top right corner, spanning a massive 6.5-inch gap.
MORE: How to Use the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
I was saved from performing digit-gymnastics, though, by my colleague Andrew E. Freedman, who's an editor at our sister site Tom's Hardware. Andrew wanted to check out my phone, and he discovered that Apple doesn't enable Reachability by default.
To find the Reachability setting, open Settings, tap General and then tap Accessibility. There, you'll find Reachability, under Interaction.
Once it's enabled, you can easily tap the top part of your screen by simply swiping down on the bottom edge of your phone. And if it doesn't work for you the first time — say you accidentally tap a button instead — try swiping from lower on the phone.
So far, Reachability has saved me a ton of effort and is probably protecting me from a repetitive strain injury. Also, it's taken away any of my concern that I chose the wrong phone, as that thumb stretch was the only downside of such a huge screen.
Credit: Tom's Guide
