I get your point. iOS' backspace operation is a bit of a mess. Apple should allow you to adjust settings such as the speed and timing of when the speed increase occurs.
Yes, but if you wind up moving your finger to test you can wind up swiping accidentally if you pick it up in the right orientation as you test the friction or look for the menu button.
It is a human centered design, IMHO, that valued form over usability and as a result it is neat but is frustrating for many users when it comes to actually acting as a remote. A good remote design is much like an aircraft cockpit; you can tell what it controls, and operate the desired control, without looking at it. If you have to look at it or fiddle with it, it is distracting.
The flip side is designers who want to put every function on the remote. I have an AV remote at home with some 30+ buttons, all with tiny abbreviations as labels; it is so hard to use I tossed it in a box somewhere and never use it. My Siri remote controls the volume just fine and turns it on and off via HDMI-CEC, which is 99.9% of my normal uses. Other functions, such as changing source, A-B speaker setup, etc. are easily done by getting out of the chair and walking to the device.
Thanks. Makes sense once you realize it but gets back to my human centered design concern, it is not good design when you mimic a controller in an app but leave out a key function because another item on the device can perform that function.
