Video | iPhone 6 screen too large? Try an extendable thumb

Smaller-handed gadget fans rejoice! A Japanese inventor has come up with a way to use Apple’s new 5.5-inch iPhone display without straining your thumb.

James Griffiths

Published: 5:45pm, 24 Sep 2014

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Smaller-handed gadget fans rejoice! A Japanese inventor has come up with a way to use Apple’s new 5.5-inch iPhone display without straining your thumb.

Tokyo-based gadget maker Thanko is selling its “Yubi Nobiiru” for around US$13 to customers who love large-screen devices but baulk at using them with one hand.

The “extending finger” is a thumb-shaped stylus which adds an extra 15 millimetres to a user’s own digit, allowing easy access to the whole screen.

“This wasn’t specifically designed for the new iPhone but for overall smartphones because screen sizes are getting larger and difficult to handle,” a Thanko spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.

Though Apple’s new larger screen models have attracted a great deal of attention, “phablets” have been around for many years. Samsung’s Galaxy Note, released in 2011, is largely credited with pioneering the larger-screen market now worth an estimated US$46 billion according to market research firm Visiongain.

Despite the market’s explosive growth in recent years, many consumers struggle to use larger screens. A widely shared image created by designer Scott Hurf based on research into the “Thumb Zone” by mobile expert Steve Hoober found that almost two-thirds of the new iPhone 6 Plus screen are comfortably within reach of most people’s thumbs.

While the “Yubi Nobiiru” may fix that particular problem, some angry customers have reported that the phone’s larger size also means it is more susceptible to getting bent.

According to Techcrunch, “reports suggest that the phone will bend when left in a pocket, seated, for a prolonged period of time.”

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