International Lefthanders Day: Best tech gadgets for lefties

Studies suggest that while the world primarily comprises right-handed individuals, roughly 10% of the human population are left-handed. That may feel like a small number, but even 10% translates to one person in every ten people being left-handed. Unfortunately, most of the world’s elements are not catered to left-handed users, and that includes technology.

However, there are some pieces of technology that can make life easier if you have a dominant left hand. On the occasion of International Lefthanders Day, here are five such products that you should be aware of.

5 tech gadgets suitable for left-handers

Reversible door refrigerators

Refrigerator doors always open from the left to the right, making them great for right-handed users, but a nuisance for lefthanders especially when their dominant hand may already be holding some dishes. This may not be a problem for everybody, but for those who are affected by this, there aren’t many solutions.

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That said, if you live alone, or your home consists of more lefthanders than righthanders, you can consider going for a reversible door refrigerator like the Midea Mini Bar which can be set to open from both left to right, or right to left.

Symmetric gaming mice

Gaming mice are primarily designed for right-handed users. This is evident from the design of the mice, which will often have grooves for the ring and pinky fingers on the right and the thumb on the left. However, there are also some gaming mice like the Redragon Reaping wired optical gaming mouse which are symmetric by design, allowing them to be used by both left and right-handed users.

TWS earbuds

If you’re old enough to have lived through the era of wired earphones, you know having controls on one end can be a problem for left-handed users, because the controls of such earphones are always on the right. Unfortunately, that’s also a trait many neckband-style wireless earbuds and headphones feature today, leaving most controls on the right.

There is a fix for lefthanders here though – upgrading to TWS earbuds. Not only are TWS earbuds more convenient and lightweight, they also feature touch or pinch-based controls. With earbuds like the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 or the Apple AirPods Pro, users can also choose gestures for the left and right sides as per their convenience, allowing them to use whichever hand they want for the most frequent controls.

Phones with in-display fingerprint sensors

If you’re not using Apple’s FaceID iPhone series, there are two kinds of smartphones with fingerprint sensors today – phones with capacitive fingerprint scanners and phones with in-display fingerprint scanners. While most capacitive fingerprint scanners are actually faster, more accurate and cheaper (allowing them to exist on budget smartphones too), they are also aligned either on or around the power button, which is usually on the right.

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For righthanders, this means their right thumbs will naturally fall on the fingerprint sensor. However, lefthanders are left struggling to reach the scanner with their left index fingers. To prevent this, you can ensure your next smartphone has an in-display fingerprint scanner like the Realme 11 Pro or the OnePlus Nord 3. These are placed in the middle of your screen and are much easier to work with using both your left and right hand.

Smartphone stabilisers with centred controls

Gimbals and other stabilisers are all designed to suit the preferences of right-handed users. This is why gimbals like the DJI Osmo 6 will feature controls on the left, which can be a hassle if you want to grab the gadget with your left hand. However, lefthanders can instead opt for gimbals like the Hohem iSteady X 3-Axis which feature centred controls, allowing you to seamlessly use its features from both hands.

Being a Southpaw doesn’t have to result in an unwieldy experience while using gadgets. These great alternatives to everyday products are designed for both lefties and righties in mind, and will be helpful for your day-to-day tasks.