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.
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What I dislike personally about the 3 onscreen button thing is most phones are oled now and I’d rather not have anything permanent on my screen because of potential burn in but that goes for the status bar as well.
As a Samsung user, One Handed+ is a game changer. Placed on either/both side of the phone, I don’t need to veer towards the bottom of the screen. Much faster and ergonomically superior to buttons or stock gestures.
Yeah, one handed mode+ and gestures is the ultimate combo IMHO
I would have to try that. I have a Samsung tablet and oneUI’s interface and functionalities are really great. My phone is a Poco F3 and even with miui.eu the gestures on those devices have always felt a bit off for me. Most likely where I get most of my opinion from.
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.
Poco
That’s probably the problem
I had to convert to gif as lemmy wouldn’t allow me to upload mp4. As a result video is slowed down a bit but there are seconds shown in the clock so it shouldn’t be hard to get an idea of the actual speed. The point is that it’s faster than it looks.
Screenspace outweighs it for me though. My accuracy is pretty good these days, but my assistant gestures are turned off for unrelated privacy reasons, so there might be less gestures I really need.
I disagree. Gestures are better.
It’s subjective. I have no problem one handed and think it’s fewer accidents because it takes more than just a tap to trigger.
That said I’m on Samsung where the gestures are amazing. I still don’t get the appeal of other brands that all have worse update lifetime, worse UI goodies, etc.
I miss physical buttons.
I don’t think you know what objectively means. You meant to use the word subjectively.
I’m glad that Android (still) gives us the option to chose one or the other.
Exactly my thoughts. I don’t mind either navigation option but I’m thrilled I have the choice
With how Liftoff has been doing gesture navigation updates, I’m about to suggest they make it all optional because I keep closing shit or going places I am not intending to when just trying to zoom in on a picture or something.
The ONLY time I prefer gestures to buttons is on the desktop. I use mouse gestures. Which also require holding a button down while moving the mouse, so even then I’m still technically using a button.
I prefer gestures, it feels more natural and there is a bigger margin for error, as in I can swipe from anywhere along the bottom to go home or anywhere along the sides to go back. The one downside for me is the left back gesture conflicting with drawer navigation, but apps seem to be moving away from that anyway
It is also sometimes annoying when you try to crop the margin of a photo and the cropping area overlaps with the back gesture trigger area. But for me gestures win every time because the back gesture, which is the most common of the 3 operations, is available anywhere my thumb currently is, not just on the bottom edge of the screen.
Pro tip, press left edge amd hold for 0.5 seconds then swipe right. Works every time
I disagree, with the way I hold my phone one handed it’s much more comfortable and natural to use gestures than stretching my thumb all the way to the bottom of the screen (although this is also due to how large screens have become, 3 button was much more manageable with smaller phones)
I do feel like 3 button navigation is as comfortable and as fast as gesture is when using two hands
Don’t you have to stretch your thumb down when going home or switching apps?
Yes, but I do that much less often than navigating “back”
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.
Switching between apps might be bit slower, however going back is much faster and is more used. So I find it faster overall. And feels much easier after the initial learning part.
I prefer buttons because there’s less risk of accidentally highjacking the gestures used by mobile screen-reader users to navigate.
Also buttons theoretically tell you what they do before they do it (when they’re not just abstract icons). Gesture relies on cognitive load, which forces me to remember an action mapping. Which I do not. Especially since covid. Or i have to abandon my task to search for documentation, which is worse because it reduces the odds I’ll compete the thing I was trying to do.
