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.
I don’t think you know what objectively means. You meant to use the word subjectively.
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.
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.
I briefly switched to iPhone a few years ago and one of the things I missed the most coming back to Android was swiping to return. Needless to say I pounced on it when Android introduced it. It’s such an awesome little feature, I can no longer live without it lmao.
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.
Objectively? You’re just used to them. I like the extra screen real estate and they’re much easier on my hands
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.
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
The 3 button navigation is simpler, much faster than gestures and less prone to input errors than gessure navigation.
I was constantly backing out of my app when all I wanted to do was turn a page. Therefore I went back to the three buttons. The gestures are nifty, but I was always running into problems with the gesture happening when I didn’t want it to.
My tech averse spouse finally wanted a smartphone and I knew he would not understand gestures as he is very literal. So there was a double bonus: the buttons are a lot better for him.
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.
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.
If this was still the days of small, reasonably size, phones, I’d agree with you. But I can’t comfortably reach the bottom of my phone while performing normal interactions so gesture control is far more ergonomic for me
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.
Agreed. I always seem to make gestures on accident, so having the button option instead is so handy.
Now if only there was a way to keep it on screen in games. I get that some people find that more immersive, but I prefer the consistency of having it there. (And I can’t just use one of the floating bar apps because it covers up in-game stuff!)
Devastated over two button nav being killed off. I love having a back button but I like the swipe to switch apps and to go home.
I have a magisk mod that puts it back in but it’s now extremely broken thanks to Google and it doesn’t seem to work on new installs. Stopped working properly around May '23 update. P7 Pro
