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iPhone X Home indicator bar and gaming on iPhone X

H

heisenberg_WW

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 9, 2017
7
4
I find it annoying that the home indicator bar stays on the screen when playing games on the iPhone X. I constantly quit the game whenever I do swiping anywhere close to the home indicator bar. If you play South Park: Phone Destroyer you will know what I mean.
I hope apple can find a way to hide the bar just like in android where you have to to do double swipe in order to bring the navigation bar instead of making it visible all the time.
 
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Some apps/games require 2 swipes on the home bar to quit back to the home screen. I kinda wish that the home bar didn't reorient itself whenever I switch to landscape and that it stays where it is. Same with the control centre and notification swipes.
 
the bar obscures the written prompts in gaming on The Machines.
unsure/may not be optimized for X, and would be easier if the prompts were audio anyway.
 
heisenberg_WW said:
I find it annoying that the home indicator bar stays on the screen when playing games on the iPhone X. I constantly quit the game whenever I do swiping anywhere close to the home indicator bar. If you play South Park: Phone Destroyer you will know what I mean.
I hope apple can find a way to hide the bar just like in android where you have to to do double swipe in order to bring the navigation bar instead of making it visible all the time.
Click to expand...
Yeah I updated my app today and I have the same complaint. I liked the previous version how you had to swipe twice to leave the app. Now I keep almost accidentally closing the app when trying to play cards. (Luckily I catch myself and don’t let go.)

I filed a support ticket at http://support.ubi.com so I’d say send ‘em another! Maybe if more people complain it will get fixed faster.
 
haruhiko said:
The game developer should update the app. The developer can choose to hide the home indicator or not. it's their choice.
Click to expand...
AFAIK hiding does not disable home function. I've read however that a tripple power button push locks the home bar. Can someone confirm that for me? I'm still waiting for my device and cant do that myself.
 
You can use guided touch in the accesibilities settings to temp remove home bar function.
 
heisenberg_WW said:
I find it annoying that the home indicator bar stays on the screen when playing games on the iPhone X. I constantly quit the game whenever I do swiping anywhere close to the home indicator bar. If you play South Park: Phone Destroyer you will know what I mean.
I hope apple can find a way to hide the bar just like in android where you have to to do double swipe in order to bring the navigation bar instead of making it visible all the time.
Click to expand...

You can in fact hide the home bar indicator during gameplay, however it does require a few steps to setup to do so. The key to hiding the home bar indicator is invoking Guided Access in Accessibility. Once enabled, it is an easy triple-click of the power button after the game loads to hide the indicator as well as prevent unwanted interface elements (Control Center, etc) from invoking by swiping during gameplay. To leave Guided Access, then an easy double-click of the power button and Face ID will bring back the home bar indicator and swiping gestures.

Firstly, open Settings and navigate to General > Accessibility > 'Learning' - Guided Access. Next, Turn on Guided Access and allow Face ID to end Guided Access under 'Passcode Settings'. The parameters are now set up; you can exit Settings.

Now, open the game you wish to play. After the game loads, triple-click the power button and Guided Access preferences will open. Press 'Start' in the upper right of the screen. Now put in a passcode (twice) you will remember (initially only; you will not need to use it, Face ID will handle requests). After the passcode input, the game will run in Guided Access mode without any home bar indicator or interface swiping interventions. Once gameplay has ended, double-click the power button and allow Face ID to end the Guided Access session.

The only thing to remember from this point onward is to launch your game, triple-click power button, 'Start' Guided Access, play game, double-click power button to return to normal operation of iOS. the routine becomes second nature and this appears the most optimal way until Apple (or the software developer) decides to offer a preference for hiding the home bar indicator.
 
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axiomus said:
You can in fact hide the home bar indicator during gameplay, however it does require a few steps to setup to do so. The key to hiding the home bar indicator is invoking Guided Access in Accessibility. Once enabled, it is an easy triple-click of the power button after the game loads to hide the indicator as well as prevent unwanted interface elements (Control Center, etc) from invoking by swiping during gameplay. To leave Guided Access, then an easy double-click of the power button and Face ID will bring back the home bar indicator and swiping gestures.

Firstly, open Settings and navigate to General > Accessibility > 'Learning' - Guided Access. Next, Turn on Guided Access and allow Face ID to end Guided Access under 'Passcode Settings'. The parameters are now set up; you can exit Settings.

Now, open the game you wish to play. After the game loads, triple-click the power button and Guided Access preferences will open. Press 'Start' in the upper right of the screen. Now put in a passcode (twice) you will remember (initially only; you will not need to use it, Face ID will handle requests). After the passcode input, the game will run in Guided Access mode without any home bar indicator or interface swiping interventions. Once gameplay has ended, double-click the power button and allow Face ID to end the Guided Access session.

The only thing to remember from this point onward is to launch your game, triple-click power button, 'Start' Guided Access, play game, double-click power button to return to normal operation of iOS. the routine becomes second nature and this appears the most optimal way until Apple (or the software developer) decides to offer a preference for hiding the home bar indicator.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this tip :)
 
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Sadly, this convoluted workaround is still required in 2020. It’s better than nothing, but hardly ideal. Vertical real estate is in short supply when in landscape mode, so not only is a bright, persistent home bar distracting, it takes up real estate that could (and should) otherwise be devoted to the game or app itself.

Very few developers seem to implement hiding (or at least heavy dimming and translucency) and I think a significant part of the blame does lie with Apple because it indicates to me that they’re not making the methods and guidelines easy or obvious enough.

I really hate the home bar!
 
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Still annoying can’t play any game without the home bar staying if in iOS 16 they don’t remove it im done with iOS
 
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