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Can you use the iPhone without using the home button?

Michael Goff

Michael Goff

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Original poster
Jul 5, 2012
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Sinple question.

Would it be possible to navigate the same entire phone without hitting the home button once? Would it make sense? I think 3D Touch makes it possible, but not sure.
 
You could use assistive touch. It's basically a home button that floats on your screen no matter what you app you're in.
 
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Yes, it would be possible, under certain circumstances. For example, if the home button was removed, they could make the bottom bezel of the phone 3D-Touch-sensitive. If they could implement Touch ID in there too, it would be like the home button never actually left.
 
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JohnApples said:
Yes, it would be possible, under certain circumstances. For example, if the home button was removed, they could make the bottom bezel of the phone 3D-Touch-sensitive. If they could implement Touch ID in there too, it would be like the home button never actually left.
Click to expand...

That might work. I'm assuming you mean in the screen, otherwise we're not gaining anything by removing the home button.

techspin said:
You could use assistive touch. It's basically a home button that floats on your screen no matter what you app you're in.
Click to expand...

I guess that could work, but I doubt Apple would put a half measure like that in.
 
JohnApples said:
Yes, it would be possible, under certain circumstances. For example, if the home button was removed, they could make the bottom bezel of the phone 3D-Touch-sensitive. If they could implement Touch ID in there too, it would be like the home button never actually left.
Click to expand...

And if they leave the bezel in place, they might as well leave the home button alone.
 
Michael Goff said:
Sinple question.

Would it be possible to navigate the same entire phone without hitting the home button once? Would it make sense? I think 3D Touch makes it possible, but not sure.
Click to expand...
For my purposes, and use case the home button is terribly crippling.

Slow to respond, not that its faulty, it's just the nature of a 1950's era control.
Apple's love of analog buttons is rather bizarre.
 
maxsix said:
For my purposes, and use case the home button is terribly crippling.

Slow to respond, not that its faulty, it's just the nature of a 1950's era control.
Apple's love of analog buttons is rather bizarre.
Click to expand...

So tell me how you use your device? Is it via 3D Touch and gestures? I would love to know. I'm trying to cut out home button use on my phone and then tablet, aside from Touch ID.
 
adamhenry said:
And if they leave the bezel in place, they might as well leave the home button alone.
Click to expand...
The bezel would obviously be shrunken down a bit without a home button, otherwise you're right, there would be no point. Perhaps they could get away with a bezel half the size of what it is now. Whether that's worth it or not, is a matter of opinion I suppose.
 
Michael Goff said:
So tell me how you use your device? Is it via 3D Touch and gestures? I would love to know. I'm trying to cut out home button use on my phone and then tablet, aside from Touch ID.
Click to expand...
To be honest, I had no idea how much time was being wasted, how much of a bottleneck the mechanical home button is.

That is until I migrated away from Galaxy Smartphones with copy cat Apple style mechanical reciprocating home buttons, to the Elegant, Fast, Reliable, Debris and Moisture Proof Electronic Controls of my Nexus Smartphones.

Made up of the same exactly technology as the immediately adjacent touch screen, these "buttons" are brilliant. The difference saves so much time, I have demoted my iPhones to secondary spare phones.

One can only surmise that Apple hasn't brought the iPhone in the modern world, simply because they don't sell performance. They can't brag they invented the touch sensitive button, therefore they don't want anything to do with it.

Let's not overlook the fact that most of Apple customers don't know the difference, nor do they care.
 
maxsix said:
To be honest, I had no idea how much time was being wasted, how much of a bottleneck the mechanical home button is.

That is until I migrated away from Galaxy Smartphones with copy cat Apple style mechanical reciprocating home buttons, to the Elegant, Fast, Reliable, Debris and Moisture Proof Electronic Controls of my Nexus Smartphones.

Made up of the same exactly technology as the immediately adjacent touch screen, these "buttons" are brilliant. The difference saves so much time, I have demoted my iPhones to secondary spare phones.

One can only surmise that Apple hasn't brought the iPhone in the modern world, simply because they don't sell performance. They can't brag they invented the touch sensitive button, therefore they don't want anything to do with it.

Let's not overlook the fact that most of Apple customers don't know the difference, nor do they care.
Click to expand...

On screen system buttons.

I despise those.
 
Michael Goff said:
On screen buttons.

I despise on screen buttons.
Click to expand...
I do understand, they're not for everyone.

Too reliable, too fast and too contemporary, it's all a matter of what one uses their device for.

My smartphones see heavy use for both personal and business, speed and efficiency are my priorities.

The old people over 60 in my family, greatly prefer the slower pace of their iPhones. Used mainly for pictures of the grandkids and to make the user feel youthful Apple's iPhone is brilliant.
 
maxsix said:
I do understand, they're not for everyone.

Too reliable, too fast and too contemporary, it's all a matter of what one uses their device for.

My smartphones see heavy use for both personal and business, speed and efficiency are my priorities.
Click to expand...

I just hate a portion of my screen always being taken up. I also hated accidentally hitting the home button when playing a game on my Nexus 6. Speed is great until you keep exiting an app because your finger presses the wrong spot, then it isn't so fast.
 
Michael Goff said:
I just hate a portion of my screen always being taken up. I also hated accidentally hitting the home button when playing a game on my Nexus 6. Speed is great until you keep exiting an app because your finger presses the wrong spot, then it isn't so fast.
Click to expand...
I respect your position on this. Make no mistake I have no reason to argue with you.

For some reason I never have had a problem with unintended commands. The only time my home, back and menu buttons get activated is when I deliberately do so.

The _very_ popular argument that usually comes from the iPhone camp about taking up screen space is not only wrong, it cannot be proven.

Simply look at any neutral site that reports on all brands and types of smartphones and look at ratios. Without fail the on screen buttons take up less space, allowing for larger displays and narrower bezels than even Apple can achieve after years of trying.


Here's but one of over twenty sites: www.gsmarena.com
 
maxsix said:
I respect your position on this. Make no mistake I have no reason to argue with you.

For some reason I never have had a problem with unintended commands. The only time my home, back and menu buttons get activated is when I deliberately do so.

The _very_ popular argument that usually comes from the iPhone camp about taking up screen space is not only wrong, it cannot be proven.

Simply look at any neutral site that reports on all brands and types of smartphones and look at ratios. Without fail the on screen buttons take up less space, allowing for larger displays and narrower bezels than even Apple can achieve after years of trying.


Here's but one of over twenty sites: www.gsmarena.com
Click to expand...

Make no mistake, I'm not trying to start an argument. I'm trying to discuss. I love this sort of discussion, where nobody is insulting anyone and we all just share our own use cases. That's why I started this thread, to start a discussion.
 
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I think they will get rid of home button at some point. They can just use the force touch to use as a home button (press hard anywhere on screen to go home); but they will have to add that feature in (how hard u press the screen; just like Apple Watch).


In terms of Touch ID, I think they can make the entire screen a sapphire screen that can read your fingerprint. Wouldn't that be something that Steve would even say "it's so cool!"
 
EdisEdward said:
I think they will get rid of home button at some point. They can just use the force touch to use as a home button (press hard anywhere on screen to go home); but they will have to add that feature in (how hard u press the screen; just like Apple Watch).


In terms of Touch ID, I think they can make the entire screen a sapphire screen that can read your fingerprint. Wouldn't that be something that Steve would even say "it's so cool!"
Click to expand...

I would hate that. The non-Samsung Android buttons are a way better idea that that IMO.
 
I hate assistive touch. Basically it came about because the iPhone's before 5 had crap home buttons and people turned it on because of habit and fear of demolishing the home button.
 
Ev0d3vil said:
I hate assistive touch. Basically it came about because the iPhone's before 5 had crap home buttons and people turned it on because of habit and fear of demolishing the home button.
Click to expand...
If anything it got fixed in the 5. They had to restructure and reinforce the home button. The problem was the 4 series.
 
Michael Goff said:
I'm basically trying to figure out how a bezel-less iPhone would work. This man gets it.
Click to expand...
I imagine all or part of the screen would have to wake the device. This is doable already, tichnically, though I am unsure how bad the battery drain would be.

The bigger question, in my mind, is the fingerprint scanner. I don't think Apple would abandon that, nor do I think they wopuld put it on the back like some other manufacturers have done.
 
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maxsix said:
I do understand, they're not for everyone.

Too reliable, too fast and too contemporary, it's all a matter of what one uses their device for.

My smartphones see heavy use for both personal and business, speed and efficiency are my priorities.

The old people over 60 in my family, greatly prefer the slower pace of their iPhones. Used mainly for pictures of the grandkids and to make the user feel youthful Apple's iPhone is brilliant.
Click to expand...


According to this online report, I guess all 'the old people over 60' are busy buying stuff with their iPhones while the 'youngsters' just play with their toys (Nexus at al) ;-)

https://www.custora.com/pulse/platform

Personally, I wish the bezel got a little smaller.

upload_2015-11-30_17-12-59.png


Cheers !
 
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