How about putting virtual home button to an iphone (Some UI suggestion)

[bill304]

1) Three basic advantages if the new iphone has 'virtual home button'

1. The display can has both 16:9 ratio which is good at seeing video (This is the display ratio when the user makes the virtual home button transparent) and current 3:2 ratio. (This is when the home button appears at the screen)

2. Users can open multitasking bar and Siri tab without making the apps pause. (I'll explain more later) and unique UI and features (You can find it at part

3. Can have better and unique design.

2) The summarized design of the iphone that has virtual home button
: basically this iphone will have 16:9 ratio display. But when the user summons the home button the display it will become 3:2 ratio display.
And of course, you don't have to make an additional area for home button because the home button appears at the screen.
So basically, the iphone (with virtual home button) 's front panel will only contain receiver and facetime camera.
And the most great part is that although the new iphone will have 16:9 ratio display, it will be not so long because the front panel will have only screen and no home button area. This will make the grip more comfortable.

3) The most important part : The UI and features of virtual home

1. How to summon virtual home button
: First, place two fingers at the very bottom of the display. Second, place those fingers at right and left side of the display. Then finally, pinch the two finger. The the black or white home button section will appear at the buttom of screen and the screen will become 3:2 ratio.

2. How to make the home screen disappear.
: Do the opposite of phase 1.

3. The home button of 16:9 screen.
: This time the home button area won't appear at the display. Instead, the home button will become a half-invisible, thumb sized toggle key.

4. The possible UI change of multitasking bar, Siri tab, iAD, and Push notification

I. multitasking bar : If you double click the virtual home button, the home button area will become a multitasking bar. This is will enable you to use fast app switching without pausing your current working app.

II. If you turn on the Siri feature, the home button will become Siri icon. And after you speak to Siri, the Siri icon will move to the left edge and the dialogue will appear at the rest of the space.

This also means that you can use both Siri and other apps at the same time.

This can make users to write notes and search Wolfram Alpha on a same time, or write text message and correct typo at a same time.(By talking Siri, ‘Correct all typo’ while writing text message with another hand)

Also developers can make Siri controlled apps (especially games) as Siri can be used while the apps are running.

III. Notification push and iAD will appear on the home button area. This will not interrupt user.




5) Other great features you can add to virtual home button area


1. Shortcut

: This is a small button that will be on the right side of the virtual home button.
When you click it, you can select various apps then turn on instantly. You might think this is same as fast app switching, but it’s different because you can turn on apps that you have turned on.

2. Half Screen View

: This awesome feature will enable users to run two apps on a same time!
To use this feature, just put your finger at the left side of the virtual home button area, the swipe up. Then the screen will divide into two area.
So you can use notes app and Safari on a same time, or use two safari pages on a same time and so on. This will be one of the best feature.



So these are the reasons and advantages that you should use virtual home button.

What do you think?

 

[batting1000]

People are too use to a hardware home button on the iPhone. It accessible from anywhere and works even when an app / UI freezes (if at all).

 

[forcetactic]

Yep I would be all for it if Apple could remove the home button and have the same sized phone with a bigger screen. I use Activator and swipe up from bottom edge to return to home screen so I never use the home button anyways.

 

[bill304]

People are too use to a hardware home button on the iPhone. It accessible from anywhere and works even when an app / UI freezes (if at all).

Well, How about use the volume key instead?

 

[batting1000]

Well, How about use the volume key instead?

As a home button? You can't be serious. That would defeat the purpose of removing the home button and you'd be out a volume key.

 

[bushido]

i dont know how i ever lived without "Zephyr". it pretty much makes the annoying home button obsolete

 

[jeffe]

People are too use to a hardware home button on the iPhone. It accessible from anywhere and works even when an app / UI freezes (if at all).

Not sure this would be an issue. The galaxy nexus virtual keys are separated somehow from the rest of the OS as they work regardless if app / ui freezes for some reason. They are also most awesome.

 

[AFDoc]

I think there is no reason to get rid of the physical button and the rest is pipe dreams.

No reason to get rid of the button. It is a landmark for phone position as well as offering many useful functions.

 

[w00t951]

ICS/Jelly Bean does it better. Not only do you have a dedicated multitasking (and back) button, but they've never frozen on me - unlike iOS 5.

 

[bill304]

As a home button? You can't be serious. That would defeat the purpose of removing the home button and you'd be out a volume key.

Of course not. I was meaning that let's use volume keys if App Freezes

 

[cambookpro]

I would like to remove the mechanical button, as it's basically the number one part that wears out on iPhones, however I don't think software is the way to go. I'd much prefer a capacitive button, maybe recessed like the current home button so you couldn't accidentally hit it.

 

[Cod3rror]

How about just using Zephyr? No virtual home button necessary.

Yep I would be all for it if Apple could remove the home button and have the same sized phone with a bigger screen. I use Activator and swipe up from bottom edge to return to home screen so I never use the home button anyways.

Get Zephyr, 100 times better than the Activator method.

 

[cdmoore74]

Expect the home button to stay for a very, very long time. The only way to ditch the home button is to buy Android. So don't get your hopes up.

 

[kurtatx]

As a home button? You can't be serious. That would defeat the purpose of removing the home button and you'd be out a volume key.

"I love my new iPhone, but I can't figure out for the life of me how to turn the volume down"

 

[batting1000]

Of course not. I was meaning that let's use volume keys if App Freezes

What if it freezes and I want to change the volume? It'd be confusing having one button do two things depending on whether the app is frozen or not. It's not very intuitive.

 

[lordofthereef]

What if it freezes and I want to change the volume? It'd be confusing having one button do two things depending on whether the app is frozen or not. It's not very intuitive.

If an app freezes, I am guessing your priority is to fix the frozen app before you are fooling with the volume. But anyway, a long press of say, the sleep/wake button in this instance would work just fine.

You have made the argument about intuitive before. Frankly, many of the home button features are not terribly intuitive. Moving icons isn't terrible intuitive. Toggling wifi and bluetooth isn't terribly intuitive. Don't confuse intuitive with "I know how to do it and am proficient with it". Give someone who has never used iOS an iPhone and have them perform any of the tasks I just mentioned. I can almost guarantee you they will have to figure out (or ask) how to do one or more of those tasks.

 

[brock2621]

ICS/Jelly Bean does it better. Not only do you have a dedicated multitasking (and back) button, but they've never frozen on me - unlike iOS 5.

You can't be serious...

I picked up a co-workers phone in a meeting last week and it froze almost a minute later from me just opening and closing things to look at the transitions...

 

[lordofthereef]

You can't be serious...

I picked up a co-workers phone in a meeting last week and it froze almost a minute later from me just opening and closing things to look at the transitions...

Bad luck? FWIW my fiance's stock 5.1.1 iPhone 4 noticeably stutters when switching through apps too sometimes.

 

[batting1000]

If an app freezes, I am guessing your priority is to fix the frozen app before you are fooling with the volume. But anyway, a long press of say, the sleep/wake button in this instance would work just fine.

You have made the argument about intuitive before. Frankly, many of the home button features are not terribly intuitive. Moving icons isn't terrible intuitive. Toggling wifi and bluetooth isn't terribly intuitive. Don't confuse intuitive with "I know how to do it and am proficient with it". Give someone who has never used iOS an iPhone and have them perform any of the tasks I just mentioned. I can almost guarantee you they will have to figure out (or ask) how to do one or more of those tasks.

I understand that, but I was just trying to imply how it'd be very unintuitive and confusing having a VOLUME button (of all buttons) act as a HOME button ONLY when the device is frozen.

I wasn't even talking about other software features. The fact that one button performs two totally unrelated function and one of them being at specific times is unintuitive. All the person in your example would have to do is either click the Settings icon, ask someone for help, or look it up. I'm not saying iOS ISN'T intuitive as I'd be lying. I can definitely see how it can be unintuitive, but then again, each OS has it's quirks.

 

[lordofthereef]

I understand that, but I was just trying to imply how it'd be very unintuitive and confusing having a VOLUME button (of all buttons) act as a HOME button ONLY when the device is frozen.

I wasn't even talking about other software features. The fact that one button performs two totally unrelated function and one of them being at specific times is unintuitive. All the person in your example would have to do is either click the Settings icon, ask someone for help, or look it up. I'm not saying iOS ISN'T intuitive as I'd be lying. I can definitely see how it can be unintuitive, but then again, each OS has it's quirks.

People are just spit-balling here. As I mentioned, the sleep/wake button would be just fine. Right now, the home button already has a bunch of unrelated tasks anyway. Hold it down for siri. Tap once while in springboard for search. Double tap for multitask tray. Tap once while in an app to exit app. Those are all pretty different tasks, IMO.

My point is, the home button ITSELF isn't even all that intuitive, unless you already know what it does. If I may say so, I am not sure intuitiveness is your concern, I just think you don't like the idea of losing the hardware button. And that is fine. But when talking about how intuitive something is, a software button that replaces the hardware button functions in every way other than killing apps isn't strictly unintuitive, or at least not any less than what we have now.

 

[surfkw]

Try using assistive touch
http://www.simonblog.com/2011/11/06...orking-assistive-touch-can-be-the-workaround/

 

[batting1000]

People are just spit-balling here. As I mentioned, the sleep/wake button would be just fine. Right now, the home button already has a bunch of unrelated tasks anyway. Hold it down for siri. Tap once while in springboard for search. Double tap for multitask tray. Tap once while in an app to exit app. Those are all pretty different tasks, IMO.

My point is, the home button ITSELF isn't even all that intuitive, unless you already know what it does. If I may say so, I am not sure intuitiveness is your concern, I just think you don't like the idea of losing the hardware button. And that is fine. But when talking about how intuitive something is, a software button that replaces the hardware button functions in every way other than killing apps isn't strictly unintuitive, or at least not any less than what we have now.

You're correct, but the home button is the only button where it'd be logical to do all those things. It's the main button for using the device. I'm fine with the idea of losing the button, but not the idea of using a volume button as a "back up" home button.

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Try using assistive touch
http://www.simonblog.com/2011/11/06...orking-assistive-touch-can-be-the-workaround/

Yep, I've been using it since iOS 5 came out.