iPad gestures the 1st step toward eliminating the home button?

[MattWylde]

Do you think that Apple could release the iPad 3 without a home button? I'm not a developer, so I don't have access to iOS5. However, it seems that Apple has added enough functionality with gestures that they could eliminate the home button, shrink the bezel, and make the iPad display larger.

 

[Phil-82]

Possibly! Like gestures were a trial of what the ipad 3 could be like.

 

[HardLuckStories]

I'd love to see it go or at least disabled. With gestures it's now only a nuisance as I accidentally press it in landscape mode quitting the app I'm in.

 

[fkhan3]

Although I am not looking for a larger screen. There is a possibility that home button may be removed in iPad 3. Most of the home button tasks can be accomplished via gestures.

 

[Bernard SG]

I don't believe the home button will go away. I would bet very few iPad users know about the multitasking gestures. Those existing users who don't know about the gestures would not take it nicely if upgrading forces them to basically relearn how to use the iPad.
It would be like not offering the possibility of using a mouse on a new Mac anymore.

 

[thelookingglass]

I don't believe the home button will go away. I would bet very few iPad users know about the multitasking gestures. Those existing users who don't know about the gestures would not take it nicely if upgrading forces them to basically relearn how to use the iPad.
It would be like not offering the possibility of using a mouse on a new Mac anymore.

I agree. What's the point anyway in getting rid of the home button? It's iconic, intuitive and not particularly obtrusive. It's also very useful as an "escape" button for people who get stuck in an app and can't get out. Sure, gestures are nice substitutes, but what about the 50yr old guy who hates computers and hasn't yet learned the right gesture to get out of an app that froze?