Hands-On With Android P's New Swipe-Based Gesture System

[MartiNZ]

That as well as no dedicated area for a back button. It's up to developers on where or if they even want to include a back button in each app. Google's keynote was beyond impressive this year, and many have said they are more interesting than apples own keynotes.

The no back button thing permeates their other OSes as well. Got Jetpack Joyride for tvOS and if you visit menus in the game, you CANNOT get back out, without force quitting the app, which is a very well hidden feature of the OS.

All of the newer "features" of these phone OSes seem to be clutching at straws for use cases. The whole 3d touch thing with iOS as well - surely just designed to confuse people even more when they just happen to tap too long. I'm glad Windows Phone never tried anything smart

 

[themacs]

Apple will do its own thing, as usual. What sucks for me the most, even on Android P, is the terrible animation.

 

[Swampthing]

Android is a fine OS, just not for me. Always feels too robotic.

...and what is Android P anyway? Oil?

 

[OneMike]

Android P, where shopping is a pleasure.

 

[Burger Thing]

File browser makes the biggest difference. I have no idea how people organize their photos on iOS.

An absolute valid question. You can create folders and albums within any of the Photo Apps of Apple. Like that you can make trees, like

FAMILY —

VACATIONS — SCHOOL EVENTS KIDS

2014 — pics. 2014 — Pics
2015 — pics. 2015 — pics
2016 — pics. 2016 — pics

Etc

The problem is, though, if you want to initiate sharing pics from a third party App. So let’s say, if you are in a third party mail app and want to attach a pic and you know, that your particular snapshot you are looking for is in the FAMILY VACATION 2017 Album. Usually then ALL albums will be presented at once on a single level and the tree structure will be ignored. It’s a pain in the a..

 

[QuarterSwede]

An absolute valid question. You can create folders and albums within any of the Photo Apps of Apple. Like that you can make trees, like

FAMILY —

VACATIONS — SCHOOL EVENTS KIDS

2014 — pics. 2014 — Pics
2015 — pics. 2015 — pics
2016 — pics. 2016 — pics

Etc

The problem is, though, if you want to initiate sharing pics from a third party App. So let’s say, if you are in a third party mail app and want to attach a pic and you know, that your particular snapshot you are looking for is in the FAMILY VACATION 2017 Album. Usually then ALL albums will be presented at once on a single level and the tree structure will be ignored. It’s a pain in the a..

The image picker in iOS has “all photos” at the top then all the albums you’ve made below that. I’ve never seen it different in any app.

The biggest difference is Apple designed apps to handle what the file system traditionally did. Photos for photo management, Music for the same. People who live an die by the file manager will naturally hate that. Personally I like it more as each app is specifically designed for a specific purpose and better suited to the task.

 

[oyabroch!]

As with most things in life, Google demonstrate - yet again - that empty vessels make the most noise. Another load of hype and hoo-haa, and it will be another huge disappointment. Why do they BOTHER? Broken OS, badly managed, incompetent company, TERRIBLE deployment strategies.

Give up, Google. You've had a try... now give up.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

As with most things in life, Google demonstrate - yet again - that empty vessels make the most noise. Another load of hype and hoo-haa, and it will be another huge disappointment. Why do they BOTHER? Broken OS, badly managed, incompetent company, TERRIBLE deployment strategies.

Give up, Google. You've had a try... now give up.

lmao what the hell are you even talking about. Android has way more market share than iOS .. YA LOL GIVE UP GOOGLE U SUX

Just because brand loyalty has you bent at 90 degrees doesn't mean competitor X is terrible incompetent badly managed

 

[Burger Thing]

The image picker in iOS has “all photos” at the top then all the albums you’ve made below that. I’ve never seen it different in any app.

Yes, and if you have a rather big library with tons of Folders and Albums, it becomes really cumbersome to find anything. The sharing and image picker system looks like from 2008.

 

[oyabroch!]

lmao what the hell are you even talking about. Android has way more market share than iOS .. YA LOL GIVE UP GOOGLE U SUX

Just because brand loyalty has you bent at 90 degrees doesn't mean competitor X is terrible incompetent badly managed

Yadda yadda...

 

[FelixDerKater]

Slow swipe up to scrub. Easy enough.

 

[cloberto]

Definitely my next phone will be pixel or one with clean Android, I’m happy with S8 but I would love to have the swipe gestures.

As a recent switcher to iOS, one of the things that I miss on android is an app I used called edge gestures, which lets you assign a bunch of different functions to either side of the screen on android.

 

[heov]

As with most things in life, Google demonstrate - yet again - that empty vessels make the most noise. Another load of hype and hoo-haa, and it will be another huge disappointment. Why do they BOTHER? Broken OS, badly managed, incompetent company, TERRIBLE deployment strategies.

Give up, Google. You've had a try... now give up.

hahaha, best thing I've read in a while. Classic.

 

[dallas112678]

I can't wait to not get it on my Galaxy S7 before 2020 :/ Android remains superior to iOS with the small exception of having to wait ages until it's actually available for non-Pixel phones.

Then get a pixel phone?

The "update" argument is ridiculous at this point as you can by Google branded phones and get Android updates immediately in the same way as you can buy an iPhone and get iOS updates immediately. The only difference being that iOS is only on iPhone.

 

[mlody]

Yes, and if you have a rather big library with tons of Folders and Albums, it becomes really cumbersome to find anything. The sharing and image picker system looks like from 2008.

so library with bunch of folders and albums is how different from a file manager? oh I forgot on Android I have to navigate thru crappy system files and folders (that looks like something from late 80s) and i forgot that each stupid app has a folder too. It is like navigating a maze that never ends.
and than crap, you realize that some of your pictures are on an SD card and you gotta repeat the maze run again just to get to your pictures.

 

[Burger Thing]

so library with bunch of folders and albums is how different from a file manager? oh I forgot on Android I have to navigate thru crappy system files and folders (that looks like something from late 80s) and i forgot that each stupid app has a folder too. It is like navigating a maze that never ends.
and than crap, you realize that some of your pictures are on an SD card and you gotta repeat the maze run again just to get to your pictures.

I honestly believe you didn’t understand anything i wrote in regards to sharing and what happens then with the structuring of your folders and albums, but whatever.

 

[Vlad.E.]

Let’s introduce futures while avoiding the core issues of the Android OS.

If an app crashes, clear out the cache in the app and in dev mode, and restart the phone. Google hasn’t fixed that issue, while iOS does a much better job.

I have yet to see an app iOS tell me that it has crashed in the past 1.5 years.

I’ve been a huge fan of Android for 6 years, no more, I’m done restarting my phone every time an app crashes. Google can suck it!

 

[Yebubbleman]

Google yesterday introduced the newest version of Android, Android P, at its Google I/O developer conference held in Mountain View, California. Android P includes a few enticing features like a new Dashboard for monitoring usage and an adaptive battery feature for improving battery life, but what was of interest to iPhone users was the new gesture system.

Android P adopts a new gesture-based system interface that's reminiscent of the interface of the iPhone X, so we decided to download the Android P beta to check it out for ourselves.

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For years, Android has used a navigation system that focuses on three buttons: home, back, and multitasking. That's gone in Android P, having been replaced with a small oblong button at the bottom of the display that will be familiar to iPhone X users.

Swiping up on the button brings up a card-like interface with an app overview that includes a search bar, your recently used apps, and five predicted apps, while a longer swipe (or a second swipe) brings up the All Apps screen where you can access all of the apps installed on an Android device.

As on the iPhone X, you can use the swipe up gesture from anywhere in the Android operating system, regardless of which app is being used, while a tap goes to the Home screen. A left or right swipe, meanwhile, initiates a "Quick Scrub" gesture that lets you swap between your recently used apps.

The iPhone X's gesture system is intuitive and easy to use, so it's no surprise that Google opted to introduce a similar design, and it's the natural evolution for controlling a smartphone without traditional buttons.

In addition to adopting a swipe-based interface, Android P has some other neat features, a few of which we may see in some form in iOS 12. A new Android Dashboard, for example, is designed to tell you how much time you're spending on your device and in apps in the name of digital health, something that Apple is also expected to focus on this year.

A new Do Not Disturb feature called "Shush" automatically silences Android devices when placed facedown, while a Wind Down option lets Android users set a specific bed time that enables Do Not Disturb and turns the entire phone's interface gray to discourage further use at night.

Google is also introducing a new Adaptive Battery feature that maximizes battery power by prioritizing the apps you're most likely to use next, while a new Auto Brightness feature modifies screen brightness based on your own personal preferences. Some of these features haven't been enabled just yet on all Android devices that are eligible for the beta, but they should be coming soon.

What do you think of the new Android P operating system? Are there features here you would like to see Apple enable in iOS? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: Hands-On With Android P's New Swipe-Based Gesture System

It is comforting to know that MacRumors has a spare Pixel phone on-hand for such occasions.

 

[TAJones99]

The always available back button was appealing to me...if I had to go Android. Alas, things change, things evolve. I’ll stay out of my cave.

The back button is still there, and the guesstures can be turned on or off.
[doublepost=1525925952][/doublepost]

Android is a fine OS, just not for me. Always feels too robotic.

The irony in what you guess said lol
[doublepost=1525926059][/doublepost]

It honestly sounds like they took something Apple came up with and made it better. Now it's time for Apple to do the same thing right back. A classic example of how competition drives creativity.

Apple didn't come up with that. This was took from the Palm OS the was in the Palm Pre back in 2011.
[doublepost=1525926364][/doublepost]

Nice additions. However the interface was jittery and stuttered. Although iOS does not seem as feature rich, the smoothness especially on a X is unparalleled. Maybe this was a lower end Android?

It's just a Beta and there will be glitches.
[doublepost=1525926547][/doublepost]

This is still macrumors, right?

The world has evolved and most people are all users now, and Android P is amazing and will be the best Android yet.

 

[thasan]

You kidding me? Macrumors admins came up with a title about the UI when the most impressive bit was the phone call!
SIRI looks so pathetic in comparison. For the first time in 10 years, I am feeling awkward about my choice of iOS ...

 

[ROGmaster]

Nice additions. However the interface was jittery and stuttered. Although iOS does not seem as feature rich, the smoothness especially on a X is unparalleled. Maybe this was a lower end Android?

Yeah let's pretend that Google showed the final version of Android P and it's a mess I tell you.

 

[Ramchi]

Yea I know!
Apple comes out with the first flagship Notch design.. everyone talks smack about it, then they copy it!!

Apple needs to stop copying everyone!

/s

Actually, Essential Phone came first with Notch.... I am sure Apple didn't copy from essential and vice-versa

 

[Keirasplace]

The back button is still there, and the guesstures can be turned on or off.
[doublepost=1525925952][/doublepost]

The irony in what you guess said lol
[doublepost=1525926059][/doublepost]

Apple didn't come up with that. This was took from the Palm OS the was in the Palm Pre back in 2011.
[doublepost=1525926364][/doublepost]

It's just a Beta and there will be glitches.
[doublepost=1525926547][/doublepost]

The world has evolved and most people are all users now, and Android P is amazing and will be the best Android yet.

Right... Keep drinking the crap huh, when in one year 4% will run it, I guess someone will declare that as a "victory".

 

[twistedpixel8]

I quite like the hold to switch apps, that’s pretty useful.

Also the volume stuff is neat. I wish it was more flexible on iOS. For example, a double tap of a volume button could bring up a mini control for specifically which volume you intend to control like ringer, system, remote (Spotify Connect, for example).

 

[ROGmaster]

iOS needs to update their freaking volume hud and also steal this rotation button. In fact I wish there was a way to force videos to ALWAYS start in landscape by default even if rotation lock is enabled

Interesting. This reminds me or MX Player(my default video player). When I start a video it's always in landscape and it has a small button in the top left corner, you press it and it reverts to portrait.