iPad: Future of the bezel, iPad design

[rowspaxe]

I see the design of tablets still evolving over the next 3-5 years. I think the ipad will lose or greatly minimize the bezel on all 4 sides, and the start/home button to be supplanted by a hardware side panel button or a tap gesture. The next ipad will be an evolutionary design upgrade similar to the mini.

[saving107]

Originally Posted by rowspaxe

The next ipad will be an evolutionary design upgrade similar to the mini.

Aren't all products an evolutionary design?

[bpletcher]

They could already implement the ellimination of a home button of the iPads already. With the four finger pinch to go to home screen there is no real reason to keep it around. A four finger pinch on other iDevices seems to much at the moment though.

The only real reason I can see them keeping the home button on iPads is to keep there iDevices as a whole consistent with the same buttons all around.

[Yr Blues]

Originally Posted by bpletcher

They could already implement the ellimination of a home button of the iPads already. With the four finger pinch to go to home screen there is no real reason to keep it around. A four finger pinch on other iDevices seems to much at the moment though.

The only real reason I can see them keeping the home button on iPads is to keep there iDevices as a whole consistent with the same buttons all around.

you can't double tap the 4 finger pinch

the physical button is more reassuring than soft buttons

i'm open to other possibilities, maybe shrink the button to the size of the white icon that's on the button

[chuges]

the bezel on the 9.7 in ipad won't get smaller - you need it to grasp onto when holding it with one hand. The reason the ipad mini can get away with a smaller bezel is because it is lighter and thinner, so you can rest it in your palm more easily.

[GrandPhrase]

Originally Posted by chuges

the bezel on the 9.7 in ipad won't get smaller - you need it to grasp onto when holding it with one hand. The reason the ipad mini can get away with a smaller bezel is because it is lighter and thinner, so you can rest it in your palm more easily.

Couldn't they reduce the side bezels to around 3/4 the current width so that it looks better, and then implement the finger detection technology used in the iPad mini?

[Krevnik]

Originally Posted by Yr Blues

you can't double tap the 4 finger pinch

the physical button is more reassuring than soft buttons

i'm open to other possibilities, maybe shrink the button to the size of the white icon that's on the button

If the bezel does shrink, I suspect it will be more at the sides than the top/bottom, so the home button is not in danger (yet). Personally, I wouldn't want the home button any smaller than it is now, assuming it is meant to be a thumb target.

That said, have you tried the '4 finger slide' gesture to get at the recent apps list? Just as left/right switch between apps, sliding up will reveal the recent apps widget.

[AlanKA]

Originally Posted by bpletcher

They could already implement the ellimination of a home button of the iPads already. With the four finger pinch to go to home screen there is no real reason to keep it around. A four finger pinch on other iDevices seems to much at the moment though.

If they do that then they'd need to rethink how to do a hard reboot (HOME + POWER).

[rowspaxe]

Originally Posted by saving107

Aren't all products an evolutionary design?

I think some imac models were more revolutionary than evolutionary. Also, I am saying the design evolution of the ipad will occur over 3-4 years, so i am arguing the multi-year design arc will be revolutionary.

[Yr Blues]

Originally Posted by chuges

the bezel on the 9.7 in ipad won't get smaller - you need it to grasp onto when holding it with one hand. The reason the ipad mini can get away with a smaller bezel is because it is lighter and thinner, so you can rest it in your palm more easily.

it has thumb rejection software built into the OS, but not all apps utilizes it

I'm not sure if the 9.7" ipad has that feature

[ActionableMango]

Originally Posted by AlanKA

If they do that then they'd need to rethink how to do a hard reboot (HOME + POWER).

They'd also need a solution for screen shots. But it is simple enough. There are other physical controls they could use (toggle switch and volume buttons).

Originally Posted by Yr Blues

you can't double tap the 4 finger pinch

The 4-finger swipe up is the equivalent of the double tap.

Originally Posted by Yr Blues

the physical button is more reassuring than soft buttons

I tend to dislike soft buttons too, but the physical button isn't replaced by soft buttons, it's replaced by a 4-finger pinch and a 4-finger swipe up. The 4-finger gestures work just fine and they are much faster and more smooth than going down to the physical button.

In fact, when I go back to the iPhone, I realize how clunky the home button is for app switching.

[ditzy]

I personally don't like using gestures to replace the home button. So I hope that apple don't get rid of it. I also think that it is important for accessibility reasons.
Cutting down the side bezel like on the mini would be great though, but I'm not sure what that would add practically while using it, and would give apple less space to put battery.

[Medic311]

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