Almost everyone wants smartphones with big screens because of how much content they can see, but those same people probably don’t like using big phones because they require both hands to use comfortably and securely. Some manufacturers have introduced “one-handed mode” features that shrink the screen to a smaller size temporarily, but not only is that actually more cumbersome, it is also less accurate because of the small area you have to hit with your large finger. We don’t have problems using computers with gigantic monitors because we have computer mice that offer precise and accurate control, even if we’re not touching the screen itself. That’s the kind of control that this concept design is trying to bring to smartphones, practically putting a miniature Apple Magic Mouse on the back of large phones.
Designer: Geontak Oh
The computer mouse is actually a very weird and unintuitive tool that has become second nature to most people by now. You are indirectly controlling the screen, moving a detached piece of hardware whose only connection to the computer is an arbitrary one. Before touch screens were a thing, it was really the only way to interact with a graphical user interface, so it’s a bit ironic that we might need something similar to do the same on touch-enabled devices like smartphones.
Poinf is a design concept that tries to solve the problem of using a large smartphone with one hand. With the way we hold our phones, the thumb is the only finger we can use to tap on the screen, which is next to impossible if the screen is too big for our stumpiest finger to reach. But what if you could use a different finger to do that? And what if that finger is always on the back of your phone anyway?
The idea is to put what is practically a small, squarish touchpad on the back of the phone, held there using MagSafe or other magnetic technology. The actual interactive part is a small quadrant of the slim device, an area that can be easily reached by your index or even middle finger. You slide your finger across the surface, pushing around the equivalent of a cursor, and use tapping gestures to “click” on user interface elements. You can easily detach Poinf when you don’t need it, so it doesn’t get in the way of “normal” smartphone use.
Poinf is definitely an intriguing solution to a very old problem, but it also brings a few issues of its own, particularly with usability. Moving a cursor by moving a finger on the back of the screen could require some mental gymnastics, severely affecting your speed and efficiency in the process. Of course, your brain can eventually adjust, like how it has come to accept the computer mouse, but it will take time and effort before that becomes second nature. Additionally, however, you also lose access to important touch gestures like pinching to zoom or quick scrolling, so you’ll have to do double work to teach yourself a new action vocabulary for this rather niche control mechanism. In the end, you might give up and just use the phone with both hands anyway.
