How do you think Apple could get rid of the Home "popper" button?

[blackNBUK]

I don't think that getting rid of the physical home button is an aim that Apple should have. In my opinion the home button is part of what makes iOS approachable for many people who are nervous or confused around other computers. No matter how lost a user gets in an App there is always a way out, the user simply has to press the only button on the front. An interaction on a touch sensitive bezel could serve the same purpose but it's something that would have to be learnt, in comparison the home button is obvious for everyone.

This doesn't mean that I don't think that a touch sensitive bezel is a good idea, I just think that it should be a "power user" feature in addition to the home button. Swiping up from the bottom bezel to get the multitasking bar is something that I'd definitely find useful.

 

[Piggie]

I don't think that getting rid of the physical home button is an aim that Apple should have. In my opinion the home button is part of what makes iOS approachable for many people who are nervous or confused around other computers. No matter how lost a user gets in an App there is always a way out, the user simply has to press the only button on the front. An interaction on a touch sensitive bezel could serve the same purpose but it's something that would have to be learnt, in comparison the home button is obvious for everyone.

This doesn't mean that I don't think that a touch sensitive bezel is a good idea, I just think that it should be a "power user" feature in addition to the home button. Swiping up from the bottom bezel to get the multitasking bar is something that I'd definitely find useful.

Just to be clear. I don't so much have an issue with there being a home button, though to be honest, having the press it twice is a bit silly. I'd actually be happier with one home and one multi-task button.

It's the nature of the button / or buttons.

1: You have to have a hole in the glass
2: It's a mechanical button that will wear out
3: Depending on how you hold the iPad (as Steve Jobs said, "there is no right or wrong way to hold an iPad") the button could be at the bottom, or the top, left or right.

I guess I'd love some soft button for home and multi-tasking that's always in the place I expect it to, and is totally solid state as the rest of the device.

In the dark, many a time I've had to hunt for the home button as I can't see it, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

They could put a touch sensitive button on each side of the iPad's bezel. Then, depending on which way the screen is oriented controls which button responds.

And just because it's not a physical button doesn't mean it can't be used to reset the device. I guess you guys are all too new to remember this little gem by Apple, which was reset by holding the play/pause and menu "buttons" together.

 

[MythicFrost]

Apple doesn't use gestures for the multi-tasking bar because if they did it would prevent developers from making use of those gestures in their apps.

 

[Piggie]

Apple doesn't use gestures for the multi-tasking bar because if they did it would prevent developers from making use of those gestures in their apps.

Indeed, that's why I wondered if they could make some clever use of the bezel in some way.

After all there is a large expanse of dead black bezel area just waiting to be exploited.

I'm sure earlier this year I saw something about an Apple patent for swipe controls on the bezel area.

Yeah, here you go. Here is all about it: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...-gain-an-intelligent-bezel-in-the-future.html

 

[MythicFrost]

Indeed, that's why I wondered if they could make some clever use of the bezel in some way.

After all there is a large expanse of dead black bezel area just waiting to be exploited.

I'm sure earlier this year I saw something about an Apple patent for swipe controls on the bezel area.

Yeah, here you go. Here is all about it: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...-gain-an-intelligent-bezel-in-the-future.html

Yeah, I remember that; it'd certainly be interesting. Thanks for the link.

 

[rhett7660]

They could put a touch sensitive button on each side of the iPad's bezel. Then, depending on which way the screen is oriented controls which button responds.

And just because it's not a physical button doesn't mean it can't be used to reset the device. I guess you guys are all too new to remember this little gem by Apple, which was reset by holding the play/pause and menu "buttons" together.

Flash back.... my first iPod. Still have it and it still works!

 

[Night Spring]

In the dark, many a time I've had to hunt for the home button as I can't see it, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

I've read other people express the same sentiment in other threads, but I have to say I'm puzzled by the sentiment that you have to "hunt" for the home button. There's only two possible places for it to be. It's in the middle of one of the two short sides. If you try the middle of one short side and it's not there, you know it's on the other short side.

They could put a touch sensitive button on each side of the iPad's bezel. Then, depending on which way the screen is oriented controls which button responds.

Interesting idea, but why should only one button be "active" at a time? You could have a "multitasking button" on all four sides, and any time you touch one of them, the multitasking bar comes up.

And just because it's not a physical button doesn't mean it can't be used to reset the device. I guess you guys are all too new to remember this little gem by Apple, which was reset by holding the play/pause and menu "buttons" together.

I thought those buttons were physical buttons? If they weren't physical, what were they?

 

[Piggie]

I've read other people express the same sentiment in other threads, but I have to say I'm puzzled by the sentiment that you have to "hunt" for the home button. There's only two possible places for it to be. It's in the middle of one of the two short sides. If you try the middle of one short side and it's not there, you know it's on the other short side.

Well "Hunt" was probably slightly too strong a word

I should really say I've gone to press it in the dark and it's been on the opposite side to where I was feeling for it, before realising.

Perhaps we could just say the word aloud "home" or "multi" and it would work

 

[Stetrain]

I think that a four finger swipe up to show the app switching bar and a four finger swipe down to go home would be great. I use those gestures on my Macbook's trackpad and after a while they just became instinctive. I know that Apple wants to reserve gestures for developers but a four-finger gesture seems appropriate for a "system" level command.

I find the double-click of the home button awkward anyway, less so on the iPhone and more so on the iPad for some reason. With such a big screen a gesture just seems natural.

 

[Piggie]

Actually I have a better idea

How about a swipe IN towards the screen, starting from on the bezel ?

So, no matter what orientation you are in. If you place your finger on the bezel below the bottom of the screen, and swipe up onto the screen it calls up the multitasking bar at the bottom.

I think that would be fantastic as it would be so natural as the bar comes up at the bottom of the screen as you would be swiping up.

Perhaps home could be swiping down from the top of the bezel, down onto the screen.

I think that would solve everything in a simple way.

No apps would use this type of swipe so you would not call either function up accidentally, and top and bottom would always be top and bottom no matter how you were holding the iPad.

I think I like this idea as it's simple and I can't see any real problems.

 

[Night Spring]

I think that a four finger swipe up to show the app switching bar and a four finger swipe down to go home would be great. I use those gestures on my Macbook's trackpad and after a while they just became instinctive. I know that Apple wants to reserve gestures for developers but a four-finger gesture seems appropriate for a "system" level command.

I don't know if I have particularly weak fingers or something, but any gesture that requires more than two fingers feels like too much "work" to me. Anyone else feel this way, or is it just me?

No apps would use this type of swipe so you would not call either function up accidentally, and top and bottom would always be top and bottom no matter how you were holding the iPad.

I think I like this idea as it's simple and I can't see any real problems.

I see a problem. I think you could be trying to just scroll a page up and down and accidentally start from the bezel, instead of staying inside the screen area.

 

[Stetrain]

Have you used the four finger swipes on the newer trackpads? It's really easy, just a little flick with everything but your thumb.

 

[JoeG4]

I think they should stick a touch sensor into the button so that you can tap it without pushing it, yet keep it physical to wake it.

 

[RedTomato]

I love the home button. I can feel it without looking, and it gives me something to run my fingers over.

As mentioned above, it's a huge help for newbies to give them more confidence in how to get out of whereever they happen to explore to.

I have a jb iphone and use sbs settings for most functions, but I still like the physical clicky nature of the home button. People ask me should they get a BlackBerry or an iPhone, and I say well the BB has around 30+ buttons on the front, and the iPhone has only one. Which do you prefer?

 

[Night Spring]

Have you used the four finger swipes on the newer trackpads? It's really easy, just a little flick with everything but your thumb.

If you mean the trackpads on the MacBooks, yes, that's where I tried it.

 

[Arran]

How about tapping the microphone? The OS could interpret a sharp tap as a button click. To make it easier to feel where to tap, the aluminum bezel round the microphone could be indented or grooved.

And since that lovely aluminum casing is precision machined anyway; why not have four microphone holes (one centered on each side) linked by a series of milled channels (which become sealed sound ducts when the front glass is applied) that converge on a single microphone?

Voila! You now have a truly orientation-agnostic device.

 

[Saladinos]

I think the home button frustration comes from the double tap to multitask. What is interesting is that this was mentioned immediately after iOS4 was announced. We all knew it would be an annoyance, especially how often you use it. The forums were full of people saying this would especially suck on an iPad.

Now that we've had time to live with it, we've found it really does suck... Especially on an iPad. Unfortunately, there's no way in hell Apple will fix it, so you're stuck with jail breaking.

This is all going to get worse if the notification system gets a badly-needed overhaul. Personally, I'm hoping Apple combines a new notifications system with the multitasking UI, drops the double-click and reserves a gesture for it (four finger double tap, perhaps?).

After all, they do something similar for accessibility (three finger tap to zoom). This is so much more worth it.

 

[darngooddesign]

2: It's a mechanical button that will wear out.

I have a 3+ year old iPhone that I use as an iPod and its' home button feels better than my 3GS'.

Considering I have had the OS freeze on my iPhones, I want to have a physical button to use in combination with the power button to force reboot the device.

 

[Piggie]

I think the home button frustration comes from the double tap to multitask. What is interesting is that this was mentioned immediately after iOS4 was announced. We all knew it would be an annoyance, especially how often you use it. The forums were full of people saying this would especially suck on an iPad.

Now that we've had time to live with it, we've found it really does suck... Especially on an iPad. Unfortunately, there's no way in hell Apple will fix it, so you're stuck with jail breaking.

This is all going to get worse if the notification system gets a badly-needed overhaul. Personally, I'm hoping Apple combines a new notifications system with the multitasking UI, drops the double-click and reserves a gesture for it (four finger double tap, perhaps?).

After all, they do something similar for accessibility (three finger tap to zoom). This is so much more worth it.

Just wait for iPad 2.

3 clicks for Facetime on.
4 clicks for Rear camera on.



Only joking.

Actually I've stopped using the multitaking bar double tap thing as I find it more trouble than it's worth.

It's stupid to dump every single program onto it without question.

I just close the app, and run my next app from the icons on screen as normal most of the time. They are still in their frozen state anyway.

 

[Sedulous]

now you're talking. this would be the best way as it makes sense for a touch device. Atomic Browser uses multi finger gestures. I set it for full screen on/off with 3 fingers touching the screen.

2 or 3 finger tap to bring up the multi tasking bar would be perfect.

The problem is that this might interfere with other apps that already make use of gestures. While I'd love to see a less button clicking alternative for multitasking, it will need to be some other idea.

 

[arashamedani]

I think it could be great if apple made the next iPads bezel touch sensitive and a physical button too. So depending on the orientation, the home button would always be at the bottom. And they could fit in some small LED's to give a visual que too. Here's an incredibly quick Photoshop.

 

[Dr McKay]

Agreed, i find double tap for multi tasking very annoying, especially when you are using it and your toddler gets woken up by it clicking!

Why cant they just do a five finger tap or even a one/two finger gesture to bring it up?

I would gladly have a touch gesture to bring up the multi-task bar or home screen, although that could be difficult trying to do it in an app that supports gestures. And if you're using it one handed like I often do because I'm holding something else, that could be next to impossible.