I guess this has been said before but I want to reiterate it here.
The 3 button navigation is simpler, much faster than gestures and less prone to input errors than gessure navigation.
It’s easier to use the phone one handed when using 3 buttons especially considering the size of phones nowadays.
The only real downside to the 3 button bar is the space it takes away from the screen. I can’t deny you get better immersion due increased screen size and gestures being intuitive (for me at least.
With that said I understand that depending on the brand the feel of gestures and their quality can vary (like between a pixel phone and a xiaomi device), but in terms of efficiency (and maybe slightly improved battery life due to less animations) and simplicity the 3 button navigation is still miles ahead.
Gestures are faster and more intuitive. You don’t have to do hand gymnastics just to get to the recents apps screen or to go back. The gesture bar can be hidden and it will still work, unlike the buttons which you have to swipe up to bring back, and even when shown it doesn’t take up much screen real estate. Apple got it right when they brought gestures to the iPhone and I’m glad Google copied.
None of this makes any sense. How are invisible gestures more intuitive than a button? And aren’t gestures literally “hand gymnastics”? Gestures and any “hidden” input are decidedly user unfriendly precisely because they’re invisible. I don’t recall specifics but there have definitely been apps where a user gets stuck on a screen because the developer unexpectedly opted for a gesture instead of a visible widget.
Gestures are good for the screen real estate part but that’s kinda it, IMO. I stopped fighting the current and (mostly) adapted.
I would disagree if gestures being faster. Mostly because animations can’t be disabled with gestures.
If I hit the home button I am instantly on my home screen rather than waiting on the zoom and shrink animation. Same issue with recent apps.
I don’t think you know what objectively means. You meant to use the word subjectively.
I have my navigation buttons turned off for years now, so I couldn’t disagree more.
You can’t say something is “objectively” better than. Then proceed to list “subjective” opinions. Clearly you dislike gesture navigation, which is fine, but that doesn’t make it objectively worse.
I don’t dislike gesture navigation I’m currently using it but you can’t tell me that it’s faster for switching between apps for example.
edit: I prefer gestures but button navigation (at least on my Poco F3) is waaaaaaay faster.
edit 2: I just realised I wrote better instead of faster in my title no wonder it’s so divisive
Do you have any data to back any of your claims? If not, that’s what makes them subjective. In your opinion, button navigation is faster. Doesn’t make it objective by any stretch.
I have an actual recording of using both gestures and buttons and the buttons are just much faster in general. even going back to the previous app is faster with the button. there’s quite a delay to pull up the gesture from the bottom of the screen. so at least on my device it’s not my opinion it’s a fact. I’m really curious about the the Samsung one handed+ mode that some say combined to gestures is the superior way.
I’m fully aware of it’s meaning. My post may have come across the wrong way. I really understand what you’re trying to say I understand what is the difference between an opinion and a fact. I should have put more effort into my post but i’ll put some effort in this answer at least.
Gestures or very big screens such as tablets are faster than using buttons because of the distance your fingers have to travel. Gestures are in general much better(my bad for the title) to use than buttons for various reasons: they give more screen space (that’s a fact) they create engagement with the phone and positive feedback loops because of said engagement. They are intuitive (that can be an opinion since that’s how I feel about them).
However on smaller phones where there is less finger travel buttons are just simply much faster. there is no multi-tasking pull up animation, there is no need for double input while playing a game (protection against misinput is necessary while in game which means more delayed input). Also making big upwards and swiping movements holding your thumb down while including the gesture pull up delay is just factually slower than two taps with buttons (again on phones not tablets).
I know my post came across as quite opinionated because I didn’t put the necessary effort into it. I agree with you though saying buttons are objectively better than gestures is only an opinion since there are quite good examples of gestures being better than buttons. What I precisely meant is that when it comes to speed on certain devices buttons have a clear edge over gestures.
Your post isn’t divisive because you wrote better instead of faster. You used the term “objective” incorrectly, and are continuing to. There’s nothing wrong with having an opinion, or even testing things out for yourself. That doesn’t make your point of view objective.
I understand I’m continuing to use the word objective incorrectly. I failed to grasp the definition you sent me. Please give me an example of something that is objective in your own words.
Objectively? You’re just used to them. I like the extra screen real estate and they’re much easier on my hands
Strong disagree. Gestures are so much quicker and just generally more natural feeling.
It is physically impossible for gestures to be faster than a single button press. If you prefer them that’s 100% cool but c’mon that shit is not faster
Swiping from anywhere on the edge of the screen is faster because your thumb is already there. Having to move all the way down to the bottom of of the screen with your thumb takes longer. Also take into account the chance of missing the button and having to try again, vs a gesture that needs to be much less precise
It is less prone to input errors. That’s true, but all other points I disagree with. Gestures are faster on a larger device, because you don’t have to relocate your fingers. Additionally they are easier to use on a larger screen for the same reason.
It’s just what you are used to and I don’t like that gestures are not as intuitive as buttons (worse UI/feedback), but they do work better overall and that’s a fair tradeoff.
It took a few attempts and switching back and forth until it really clicked, but it is so much better on a larger device.
Once I got used to gestures, I couldn’t go back.
I honestly find it very fast and intuitive.
That’s one hell of a controversial opinion.
I personally prefer gestures. I find them quicker (you don’t have to move your fingers as much to do anything, especially back gesture) and more intuitive (like swiping on the navigation pill or whatever it’s called to quickly switch apps, much better than double clicking recents button). Gestures also integrate nicely with the rest of os (like swiping from backspace to erase whole words in gboard).
One thing I hate and I can’t understand how that’s not fixed in stock AOSP is opening left side menus (those hamburger ones) with gestures enabled. Half of the time instead of opening the menu it will just go back, even if sensitivity on left edge is set to minimum.
This is something that custom roms address nicely as most of the time setting sensitivity to minimum would actually disable gestures in this area (take note Google). If this is something that’s bugging anyone, you can disable gestures on left edge over adb (without root) with:
adb shell settings put secure back_gesture_inset_scale_left 0or with:su -c "settings put secure back_gesture_inset_scale_left 0"if you have root access (for more info look here).Issue is that developers are honestly, kinda of dumb in regards to the menu gesture, and AFAIK there wasn’t an actual “canonical” guideline for that gesture in the first place.
Discord offers the best implemention in my opinion, as it can function on the middle of the screen and not on the edge, so it doesn’t interfere with system gestures.
Pro tip. Press left edge for 0.5 seconds then pull it out. Works every time
On a large phone (so almost all of them) gesturing is much easier than reaching for a button. When I first switched it was slightly awkward because of muscle memory, but after a while gestures felt much better.
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If you meant physical, clickable buttons, then yes, I agree with that and I miss the early days of Android where we still had them, the Galaxy 5/Europa was really fun to use and I miss it.
Never really liked the virtual buttons that much. As phones get bigger and bigger, they started making less and less sense. With gestures you can reach the back function by holding the phone anywhere on the screen. And the home and recents function are available anywhere on the bottom of the screen rather than having dedicated places.
One thing that might be a game changer once developers implement it is the predictive gesture, which would transform the back gesture into something analog, and I can imagine some cool uses for it that can’t be done with buttons. It would also help give feedback for more complex apps and stuff like that.
That said, gestures live and die by the feedback, and to this day I think the best one was done by FluidNG, as it felt like you’re pulling a black goo from the screen edge. The rest always felt a downgrade in comparison. The Android 14 one looks better than previous ones, but it still doesn’t hold a candle to FluidNG
I could not disagree more. Gestures are so much more intuitive, easier to access, and faster. The three button nav bar feels like stone age technology to me now.
I feel like it depends on the device, particularly in terms of ergonomics and how well gestures are implemented.
I fought it at first, but I’m so glad I finally gave in. It really is so much more intuitive.
It’s funny - I used it for such a long time. Then YouTube didn’t support it properly (of all things) and it drove me nuts so I went back to 3 buttons.
The 3 buttons felt so familiar. It was like coming home after being away for a long time.
