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Apple to Remove Home Button From Future iPads and iPhones?

If they remove the home button, then hopefully they'll make the screen larger. As someone said earlier, an edge to edge screen would be awesome. But my guess is that they'll:

a. Leave the home button in the same place but make it touch sensitive.
b. Edge to edge screen with the home button being on a different side.
c. Edge to edge screen with complete removal of home button.
d. Edge to edge screen with the entire thing being clickable like the macbook trackpad.
 
dbales said:
Should also point that Apple screwed the pooch with the latest Nano by miniaturizing it the point of being worse than the previous gen.

Leave the Home button, Apple. Work on making the iPhone/iPad/iTouch more useful in other ways.
Click to expand...

I disagree. The latest gen Nano is exactly what it should be. The name itself should imply this. The screen size is about the same as the last Generation but they've managed to get rid of the excess bulk. I find it far easier to switch between songs/albums/ playlists with touch gestures now compared to the clickwheel while I am running, etc. I'm not sure if your wanting multiple finger gestures on a Nano but if thats the case I'd suggest a touch instead. The Nano is and always should be a music player first. Video cameras on devices like these are gimmicks better left to larger devices.
 
Someone at Apple has some SERIOUS OCD issues.
Stop being so minimalistic and give users features they can use; don't make it more difficult and intimidating for those who are new and ask... "where are the keys/buttons?"
I surely hope this is just a rumor.
Seriously Apple... :mad:
 
Can somebody make a nice Mockup of how the iPhone would look without the home button and if it got shrunken.

Something like this:
 

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Tastic Bycrom said:
Can't see this happening on iPhone - holding a button for voice control is too valuable.
Click to expand...

The voice bit is key, but I'm thinking of getting out of the phone screen during a call to access another app. Right now, it's foolproof: push the button. I can see a five-finger-swipe-gone-wrong ending a call .
 
iPhone without a home button = can't be true or if it is then its pure insanity. How on earth can you then use it with one hand? There isn't enough room for five finger swipes and even more so you will cover the whole screen when you try to swipe.
 
Porchland said:
Apple killed the click wheel at a time when many people thought it was the defining characteristic of the iPod, and now nobody misses it.

If Apple gets rid of the iPhone/iPad home button, it will be because they found an easy, intuitive way to perform the same functions without it.
Click to expand...

Agree. Right now I can't see the home button being removed - but I also don't know what they really come up with as replacement. So if this really is going to happen, I'm sure they will have a great replacement and that they have done tons of user studies about it. I have full confidence in Apple and their great design and usability.
 
I think for the phone, as other people stated, having 4-5 finger gestures is a bit of overkill for the small screen. The iPad real-estate is where 4-5 fingers makes more sense.

On the other hand, removing the one (fairly highly used) physical button might be a bit better. The only part of my original iPhone that got cracked and became tough to use was the physical face button. Not because of dropping, but because of the way it's used all the time and the pressure on the button caused it to crack.

But I see it making more sense for the iPad, at least for using a 4-5 finger method of doing it. We'll see, though. Hard resets can be done by the buttons on the edges of the unit. You don't do those often, so those buttons wont have durability issues.
 
If the world revolved around me, and I was apple's only customer, I would say: hell yes ditch the button!

though If they do this Apple will be sure to take some heat, as they always do.
 
I definitely agree with the last guy in the article. The home button does make it very obvious how the device is used. iPads and iPhones are famous for being incredibly intuitive. I've never heard anyone say they don't know how to use an iPad or iPhone. Taking away the home button may popularize that phrase.
 
No one has answered yet the most basic function of button
Power saving. If the screen is off how do you activate it?

Have the touch sensor active and the processor active enough to decide was that the right gesture is going to use a lot of power for the hours the device isn't in use.

I'm sure the button will stay and that apple now knows exactly who's leaking rumors to BGR.
 
Point taken. When I hand my iPad to any of my family members, who never touched one before, I say. Ok, you touch what you want, and this here 1 button is how you back out of whatever program you're using. This here is the web browser.

That's it. My whole tutorial, and then they're off and running.

(And that button on the top of the unit (not the home button) is how all *power-related* things are already handled. It puts it to sleep, wakes it up, powers it down, and powers it up.)
 
There are a lot of physically disabled iPad users, many of which do not have all their digits... If Apple does this, I can smell possible lawsuits...
 
What about people that don't have all four fingers and a thumb? A 5 finger swipe would pretty much rule that group out altogether (although they're probably a very small group).
 
It floors me every time something like this comes up and so many people are like "OMG don't change anything!!! It wont work! They would NEVER do something so stupid!!!!!!"....../sigh.... It's the same people that thought a touchscreen keyboard would never work, or voice dialing, or a mouse, or automobiles that run without horses....

I trust whatever :apple: plans to do with this. I look forward to change, whatever it may be, because I know the engineers at :apple: are experts at what they do. Lose the button :apple:.... lets see what you've got next :cool:

Innovation = Change, people.
 
MacRumors said:


With Apple using the new developer build of iOS 4.3 to test new multi-touch gestures for accessing the home screen and switching between applications, speculation immediately arose that Apple might be considering doing away with the home button on the iPad as a means for shrinking the device.


095125-ipad_iphone_sans_home_button.jpg


Mockups of iPad and iPhone lacking home buttons
According to BGR, Apple is in fact contemplating doing just that, with both the iPad and iPhone being considered for home button removal.BGR's source also indicates that the next-generation iPad may gain Photo Booth functionality and more iPad-specific versions of iLife applications.

The potential removal of the home button is certain to be controversial, as Daring Fireball's John Gruber argues that the single physical feature on the front of the device serves as a reference for new users, allowing them to intuitively know how to use the device the first time they pick it up.Usability issues are an even bigger hurdle on the iPhone, with its limited screen size for many-finger gestures and the ease of use it currently enjoys with one-hand operation using solely the thumb to navigate around the device.

Article Link: Apple to Remove Home Button From Future iPads and iPhones?
Click to expand...

Interesting. Though they better not remove it from the iPod touch (and I guess, by extension, the iPhone as well). Otherwise, I'll be buying a newer one on the sooner side. :-\
 
Regarding John Gruber's comment

He's saying that a new user will be lost without a home button. Not if Apple puts a startup movie on the iPad to guide the user through the features, like the startup welcome screen after setting up a new Mac or Mac OS X installation.
 
They could simply move the home button to the side, similar to the lock button at the top. Put it on the other side right side of the phone and up the screen to 4" and i'd get one in a heartbeat. Im begining to want a bigger screen and dont really like the thick black bezel anymore. I dont want an android phone but at this rate its getting very appealing
 
If Apple can figure out a way to get rid of the home button but still allow me to use the phone with one hand I would be all for it. However I can't really figure out how they would do that and improve on or keep the same level of one handed usability. Right now I wake up my phone, slide to unlock, enter my passcode, and navigate using only one hand with my thumb doing all the work. I can easily get get back to the home screen and launch voice control plus app switching with just my thumb.
 
MattInOz said:
No one has answered yet the most basic function of button
Power saving. If the screen is off how do you activate it?

Have the touch sensor active and the processor active enough to decide was that the right gesture is going to use a lot of power for the hours the device isn't in use.

I'm sure the button will stay and that apple now knows exactly who's leaking rumors to BGR.
Click to expand...

Ever try pressing the power button?
 
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