Back button, where art thou?

[sunking101]

Coming from Android, I also found the lack of back button incredibly annoying at first also, but now 8 months into the iOS experiment I've just gotten so used to going through the anywhere from 2-8 steps necessary to mimic the back button to go back to where I was, depending on the app, that it's just second nature now and I don't really think about it any more. It's ridiculous really, but true.

However, I'm starting to care less about not having the back button now that "swipe to go back" is being implemented all over the place. In fact apps that haven't implemented it yet are starting to piss me off and I find myself looking for alternatives.

Hopefully iOS8 will just make swipe to go back universal and then it won't matter any more.

I don't understand how going back one screen takes 2-8 steps? There is either a button at the top left of the screen which won't say 'back' but it will take you back one screen, or you can swipe the screen to the right, or in Safari there will be a left arrow at the bottom of the screen (sure it takes one press to make this visible and another to implement it). In short, there is ALWAYS a way of going back one screen, and often more than one way. You're just used to the Android system and to be honest, if I went to Android I would REALLY miss the swipe feature.

 

[Mildredop]

So what you are saying is that there's a back button in your Mac browser? There's also one on your iPhone browser.

And by "Mac Air", do you mean Macbook Air?

I get his point - Mac Airs do kind of have back buttons. In Chrome and Finder there's two finger swipe left. Each time you do that, you go back a step.

And in most other applications (that I use anyway) there's undo (cmd+z) to go back a step.

So the Mac Air does kind of have a 'back one step' button which the iPhone doesn't really have.

On the iPhone and iTouch you need to go all the way back to the homescreen in a lot of cases and start again.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I love how people defend Apple and come up with excuses why there should not be a back button.

This is the iPhone Forum where "people" like this are here, in abundance, to protect the hardware they worship.

 

[Number29]

In a nutshell, iOS has been designed to not need a dedicated back button; apps either have an onscreen button to go back or you swipe from left to right on the screen.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I get his point - Mac Airs do kind of have back buttons. In Chrome and Finder there's two finger swipe left. Each time you do that, you go back a step.

So far, that's two different applications. A file manager and two browsers. Browsers on the iPhone have back buttons, and the app manager on the iPhone also has back-slide. I still don't see the fuss. Apps that need a back button has a back button. Since this is needed on a per-app basis, having a general button makes no sense.

And in most other applications (that I use anyway) there's undo (cmd+z) to go back a step.

That is not back, but to reverse a mistake. BIG difference.

On the iPhone and iTouch you need to go all the way back to the homescreen in a lot of cases and start again.

Can you give me an example?

 

[localboy28]

You're kidding, right?
..

No I'm serious I was trying to help/understand your problem.

In what day to day scenario do you need a back button on your iPhone?

 

[LV426]

Conversely...

A friend recently asked me to help her setup her Android tablet. It was easy enough to navigate around, but there were a few times where I had to think to myself "oh yeah, I've got to click that ever-present button at the bottom to go somewhere else".

I find the iOS way of doing things far clearer. There really is no need for a 'back' button. Well designed apps always have clear navigation at the top LHS. For example, when you go into the Notes app, and you have multiple folders listed, clicking one of those folders takes you to notes defined for that folder. What do you see at the top of the screen? Something that says 'back'? No, you do not. You see a button labelled '< Folders'. Far clearer and more intuitive than something that says 'back', or a waste of hardware real estate for a permanent 'back' button.

Say I come back after lunch and turn on my phone. The Notes app will display '< Folders'. I don't need to remember where 'back' actually means.

So, thumbs up to Apple, and a big thumbs down to Android in this respect.

 

[iMacFarlane]

I think most people replying to the OP have misunderstood what he means by "going back".

My initial impression was something like this:

Say you are reading an email in the email app. There is a link in the text to go to a webpage. You touch it, and Safari opens, taking you to that page. You scroll down on the page and see a link to an app on the appstore. You click that, and the AppStore app opens.

When you're done checking out that train of thought, you remember you had started with an email, so what do you do? Press the home button, press the email button, and hope that it remembered your place, because very often, the original app is in some other initialized state, or if you were at item 97 of a scrolling list, you are now back at item 1, etc.

His version of a "back button", I assume, would be where you could click something to go from the appstore back to Safari back to the email program, right where you left it.

 

[sunking101]

I think most people replying to the OP have misunderstood what he means by "going back".

My initial impression was something like this:

Say you are reading an email in the email app. There is a link in the text to go to a webpage. You touch it, and Safari opens, taking you to that page. You scroll down on the page and see a link to an app on the appstore. You click that, and the AppStore app opens.

When you're done checking out that train of thought, you remember you had started with an email, so what do you do? Press the home button, press the email button, and hope that it remembered your place, because very often, the original app is in some other initialized state, or if you were at item 97 of a scrolling list, you are now back at item 1, etc.

His version of a "back button", I assume, would be where you could click something to go from the appstore back to Safari back to the email program, right where you left it.

That's about the only time a back button is required in iOS. The OP seemed to be making a general point that he misses having the facility of a back button in all instances. Your example is the only case I can think of where iOS isn't as integrated as it claims to be. When opening links from emails I should be able to get back to my email again, in much the same way that Facebook would open a link and then take me back to Facebook again. Having to 'remember' when I find myself in Safari that I was checking my emails moments earlier can often be a bind.

 

[rockitdog]

I just switched back to an iPhone from an S5 yesterday and found myself hitting the non-existant back button on my iPhone a few times last night.

 

[L T]

They whole swipe from the left edge to go back was one of the best features of iOS 7 in my eyes

My sister upgraded from a Galaxy S2 to a iPhone 5S a couple days ago and I did laugh when she was bashing the bottom right next to the home button to try and go back!

 

[sunking101]

Although in 7.1 the swipe back feature has changed a bit. Apple seem to have moved the contact zone a fair bit into the screen and now I find myself frantically swiping at the edge of the screen with nothing happening. I'm having to train myself to swipe a good centimetre further towards the middle of the screen than I used to.
Presumably this adjustment is on account of the people who purchase ill-fitting cases which cover the very edges of the screen. These people should realise their folly and purchase a decent, well designed case, rather than us 'naked' users having to adjust around them ;-)

 

[C DM]

I get his point - Mac Airs do kind of have back buttons. In Chrome and Finder there's two finger swipe left. Each time you do that, you go back a step.

And in most other applications (that I use anyway) there's undo (cmd+z) to go back a step.

So the Mac Air does kind of have a 'back one step' button which the iPhone doesn't really have.

On the iPhone and iTouch you need to go all the way back to the homescreen in a lot of cases and start again.

Except the iPhone also has back functionality in pretty much all those similar cases, just as it has undo functionality too.

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I think most people replying to the OP have misunderstood what he means by "going back".

My initial impression was something like this:

Say you are reading an email in the email app. There is a link in the text to go to a webpage. You touch it, and Safari opens, taking you to that page. You scroll down on the page and see a link to an app on the appstore. You click that, and the AppStore app opens.

When you're done checking out that train of thought, you remember you had started with an email, so what do you do? Press the home button, press the email button, and hope that it remembered your place, because very often, the original app is in some other initialized state, or if you were at item 97 of a scrolling list, you are now back at item 1, etc.

His version of a "back button", I assume, would be where you could click something to go from the appstore back to Safari back to the email program, right where you left it.

Seems like going to multitasking and selecting the mail app in a situation like this can sometimes be even faster and/or more accurate than needing to tap the back button let's say 5 times (of you were a few pages deeper in that type of a flow example). Each time you tap back you would want to make sure where you are and this have to have different apps load their pages (if they aren't cached) and perhaps spend time waiting for that too and resources needlessly doing that since you are only going back one step at a time instead if just skipping to the beginning in one step essentially.

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Although in 7.1 the swipe back feature has changed a bit. Apple seem to have moved the contact zone a fair bit into the screen and now I find myself frantically swiping at the edge of the screen with nothing happening. I'm having to train myself to swipe a good centimetre further towards the middle of the screen than I used to.
Presumably this adjustment is on account of the people who purchase ill-fitting cases which cover the very edges of the screen. These people should realise their folly and purchase a decent, well designed case, rather than us 'naked' users having to adjust around them ;-)

Interesting, I haven't really noticed that. It's possible they expanded the area a bit, but the usual swiping from the edge that I used to do before 7.1 still works the same for after 7.1.

 

[thedeejay]

I love how people defend Apple and come up with excuses why there should not be a back button.

Of course people will, because they don't see the need. If you see the need then so be it. This is why we are all entitled to our own opinions. No need to get upset

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In my time on here and other Apple sites my impression is that many Apple users and supporters are in fact very and surprisingly critical of almost all things Apple, from business decisions to hardware and software.

There might be those who will defend Apple no matter what, but that seems to be very rare. Rather, people are accused of blindly defending Apple whenever they genuinely disagree with a criticism, often due to their own preference.

The fact is that those who make the complaints are often more fanatical than the "fanboys" because they refuse to accept that there are in fact people who like the thing they are complaining about or who do not have the same problems. Ex: I've seen more than one thread saying that those who are not experiencing battery drain on iOS 7 are "lying".

I think you're right about this. I guess people, especially die hards can't wrap their head around it.

 

[mib1800]

That's about the only time a back button is required in iOS. The OP seemed to be making a general point that he misses having the facility of a back button in all instances. Your example is the only case I can think of where iOS isn't as integrated as it claims to be. When opening links from emails I should be able to get back to my email again, in much the same way that Facebook would open a link and then take me back to Facebook again. Having to 'remember' when I find myself in Safari that I was checking my emails moments earlier can often be a bind.

The back on android is actually more powerful than this. It is bread crumbs navigation that let you back track the screens/activities (not apps) that you opened.

E.g. your screen flow

website1--Facebook post1--Playstore app1--website 2--Facebook post 2--Playstore app2

When you hit back it will backtrack the screens exactly the reverse of how you opened them even though some of the screens came from the same app.

The back on iPhone can never do this.

 

[BJMRamage]

I had a similar "Back Button" conversation with a co-worker last year.

I am an iPhone guy and was testing an S4 for a month.
She's an Android girl and was getting a work iPhone.

Talking about the differences she asked, "where's the back button?"
I tried telling her similar things as to what others on here have already said and saying that i never saw a reason for a back button.

Once on the S4 testing I got some use out of the Back Button. Then there were times when I hit Back but it would flip to the last app...not the last screen on the App...maybe i had jumped out of the app to watch a Video from inside the app and when i wanted to go back a level in the App...it would go back to eth video App.


Long story short...we get used to what we use. Going back to the iPhone after the month on Android I do NOT miss the back button. I am very comfortable with iOS. I can use Android but still find that to be confusing.


And this is not an END ALL thing. most iOS users are FINE without this button.

 

[heycal]

Long story short...we get used to what we use.

That's what I was hoping would happen. And I have gotten used to many of the flaws of the iphone. But the back button is still sorely missed after several weeks. The other problems of the iphone are of a different nature -- just stupid or annoying design choices, really -- but this is a fundamental and systemic problem.

Iphone folks who defend the lack of a back button (or notification light, for that matter) or don't even understand the need for one makes me think of someone born with a deformity: if you grow up with one leg shorter than the other or something, you learn to compensate for this deficiency and get used to life with that limitation, and maybe you can't even imagine walking with two even legs.

But those of us coming from Android are like someone born with two healthy legs who must now learn to walk with one leg shorter than the other, and it's really hard to learn a new way of doing something so basic as walking in a less efficient way.

 

[Hey Apple!]

I switched from an iPhone to a Galaxy Note 3 earlier this year and have found the back button to be extremely useful. When I had my iPhone, I never really recognized the need for one. I think it is because iOS apps are designed around not having that button while Android apps include that button into their design. The button is nice to have, but not necessary for a good user experience.

 

[C DM]

That's what I was hoping would happen. And I have gotten used to many of the flaws of the iphone. But the back button is still sorely missed after several weeks. The other problems of the iphone are of a different nature -- just stupid or annoying design choices, really -- but this is a fundamental and systemic problem.

Iphone folks who defend the lack of a back button (or notification light, for that matter) or don't even understand the need for one makes me think of someone born with a deformity: if you grow up with one leg shorter than the other or something, you learn to compensate for this deficiency and get used to life with that limitation, and maybe you can't even imagine walking with two even legs.

But those of us coming from Android are like someone born with two healthy legs who must now learn to walk with one leg shorter than the other, and it's really hard to learn a new way of doing something so basic as walking in a less efficient way.

Just couldn't keep the pointless name calling and insults out of it, could you? True colors keep on showing in post after post, as usual.

 

[I7guy]

That's what I was hoping would happen. And I have gotten used to many of the flaws of the iphone. But the back button is still sorely missed after several weeks. The other problems of the iphone are of a different nature -- just stupid or annoying design choices, really -- but this is a fundamental and systemic problem.

Iphone folks who defend the lack of a back button (or notification light, for that matter) or don't even understand the need for one makes me think of someone born with a deformity: if you grow up with one leg shorter than the other or something, you learn to compensate for this deficiency and get used to life with that limitation, and maybe you can't even imagine walking with two even legs.

But those of us coming from Android are like someone born with two healthy legs who must now learn to walk with one leg shorter than the other, and it's really hard to learn a new way of doing something so basic as walking in a less efficient way.

Hard to understand why you want to stick with a "flawed" product that has "fundamental and systemic" problems where the users are "blind followers". You should evaluate your priorities on IOS with Android vis-a-vis no back-button or notification light and customization options in Android. I guess I never noticed that this is a "fundamental and systemic" problem. But I'll trade that off for a device I know apple will provide updates and support for a few years to come.

I honestly don't care if performing the same task on apple is less efficient than android. It's my time to "waste". What I will save time on, is making the phone work the way I want. So I guess it balances out.

However, back to the point seems like the Android platform has more of what you are looking for.

IOS does have a fairly extensive "assisitive touch" section in settings that have a lot of functionality for users who might require interacting with their phones in an alternative manner. Maybe you should look into it.

I use the "assistive touch" button to aid in navigation.

 

[heycal]

The button is nice to have, but not necessary for a good user experience.

I think it's more than nice to have. If you have to remember various different workarounds or additional steps depending on what app your in order to do what a back button does, it's not a good user experience in terms of navigation.

As some iphone folks say, "I don't mind having to take extra steps. I like the way iphone does things". What can you do with that? I guess it's like people who prefer taking the stairs instead of an elevator: it's slower and more labor intensive, but I guess they like the exercise.

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Hard to understand why you want to stick with a "flawed" product that has "fundamental and systemic" problems where the users are "blind followers". You should evaluate your priorities on IOS with Android vis-a-vis no back-button or notification light and customization options in Android.

If iphone was terrible across the board I wouldn't be using it all. It does some things very, very well. Elsewhere I've listed all the things I love about the iphone. However, it's got serious drawbacks that it could address if it wanted to. I will have to weigh all that when it comes new phone time soon in a couple of months. It's a shame iphone couldn't make this decision easier...

 

[Hey Apple!]

I think it's more than nice to have.

As some iphone folks say, "I don't mind having to take extra steps. I like the way iphone does things". What can you do with that? I guess it's like people who prefer taking the stairs instead of an elevator: It's slower and more labor intensive, but i guess they like the exercise.

I agree with you partially in that a large part of it is user preference.

 

[I7guy]

I think it's more than nice to have. If you have to remember various different workarounds or additional steps depending on what app your in order to do what a back button does, it's not a good user experience in terms of navigation.

As some iphone folks say, "I don't mind having to take extra steps. I like the way iphone does things". What can you do with that? I guess it's like people who prefer taking the stairs instead of an elevator: it's slower and more labor intensive, but I guess they like the exercise.

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If iphone was terrible across the board I wouldn't be using it all. It does some things very, very well. Elsewhere I've listed all the things I love about the iphone. However, it's got serious drawbacks that it could address if it wanted to. I will have to weigh all that when it comes new phone time soon in a couple of months. It's a shame iphone couldn't make this decision easier...

In a few months, you mean IOS 8 and iphone 6. Based on past history with OS updates, your "flaws" today will still be your "flaws" tomorrow.

By the way, exercise is a great way of increasing longevity and overall health in later years.

 

[heycal]

Just couldn't keep the pointless name calling and insults out of it, could you? True colors keep on showing in post after post, as usual.

As I've said in the past, please refrain from speaking about me personally, If you can't post without making it about me, please don't post at all. Thanks.

 

[paulsdenton]

No surprise. I've experienced this often in pointing out the flaws of the iphone… Bad enough dealing with poor design issues, but it's all made worse by people defending those poor designs...

There are no flaws in the iPhone. There are only people who do not understand its genius!