Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What to tell android users who prefer a back button?
- Thread starter ElectronGuru
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
yea....every time i watch my friend with his droid tap his back button 25 times just to close an app or the browser i laugh. yes, he has to backtrack through all pages he went forward through just to do that.
I have been through every iPhone since the 2 with exception of a S model or two. With that said, I went to a Samsung S5 (due to iPhone 5 water damage) for a couple months waiting on the 6 Plus, boy did I get used to the back button in that 2 months!! I really did, and liked it a lot. Too bad that was the only thing I liked about that phone, other than the screen. But yeah, I could get used to a back button on a iPhone.
There's nothing worse than that side button on a S5. The 2 months in using one (before the 6 Plus) was a mini nightmare. lol. Talking about accidentally leaving a screen....it happened all the time. lol
In theory the back button isn't bad, but I've never had much luck with it consistently behaving like you'd expect. Sometimes -- like every 1 in 10 presses -- it would just do something bizarre. Maybe it made sense to the OS, but not to my human brain. Imagine if every time you pressed the home button there was a chance of opening some random app you used a earlier (or whatever) instead of going to the home screen.
What do you tell them? Nothing, you are under no obligation to tell them anything, comfort them or offer guidance.
Its strange to even ask this. Do you go around answering commonly asked questions often or is this your first?
I liked the back button when I was using Android. The swipe gesture doesn't work to well for me on an iPhone because of my case.
I don't know why people would mention consistency of the back button in Android (which I never had a problem with in years of usage) when using an iPhone. Back on an iPhone is extremely inconsistent. You can swipe from left in some apps, some you can't. Back buttons are sometimes in the upper left, other times in the lower left, or like in Safari its hidden completely. I actually don't think they could come up more ways to be inconsistent about it. Lol.
That said, once I've learned my apps its not really that big of a deal. And although I like the back button I can certainly live without it.
Its strange to even ask this. Do you go around answering commonly asked questions often or is this your first?
I liked the back button when I was using Android. The swipe gesture doesn't work to well for me on an iPhone because of my case.
I don't know why people would mention consistency of the back button in Android (which I never had a problem with in years of usage) when using an iPhone. Back on an iPhone is extremely inconsistent. You can swipe from left in some apps, some you can't. Back buttons are sometimes in the upper left, other times in the lower left, or like in Safari its hidden completely. I actually don't think they could come up more ways to be inconsistent about it. Lol.
That said, once I've learned my apps its not really that big of a deal. And although I like the back button I can certainly live without it.
True, the implementation of the back gesture is inconsistent, isn't the sense that it might not be implemented at all. But in my experience it is consistent in that it takes you back to the previous screen in the app. The problem with the Android back button is that it can take you with an app or from on app to another, and it's very hard to know which it will do at any given time.
Maybe this has changed in more recent versions, but this is the kind of thing I'm talking about:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...er-have-any-idea-what-the-back-button-will-do
Maybe this has changed in more recent versions, but this is the kind of thing I'm talking about:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...er-have-any-idea-what-the-back-button-will-do
Having an android tablet and an iPhone, I do like the back button a lot. Android is actually quite nice and in some ways easier/more useful than iOS
Either never, or if/when they can integrate TouchID into the touchscreen and eliminate the home button to reduce the phone's footprint.
Impossible to say at this point. If they remove the home button I wouldn't be surprised if they just replace its functionality with gestures rather than on-screen buttons.
iOS handles the functionality that Android's back button offers through a combination of swiping left to right to go back within an app and double-pressing home to switch apps. In some cases Android's back button is more convenient because it will take you back to the previous app, but in many cases its behavior is unpredictable (it seems to depend on the app) and the back button doesn't take you where you were expecting. iOS's swiping plus multi-tasking ensures that you always go exactly where you intended.
Essentially the home button and gestures replace the three Android on-screen buttons, and gives you the benefits of Touch ID in the process. As long as Touch ID necessitates a home button, it would be pointless to waste screen space with a back button. Touch ID is so reliable and useful that it's a worthwhile trade-off.
Last edited:
I liked the menu and back buttons because it leaves more screen space for more important stuff. If the iPhones had back and menu buttons on the side or something, it'd be pretty neat. Sure, it'll be a cold day in hell before that happens, but you have to admit it would be neat.
However, it'd also be a pain for people that aren't gadget inclined, and that sucks.
However, it'd also be a pain for people that aren't gadget inclined, and that sucks.
Haven't used android really, but I did have a BlackBerry Storm2 which also had a back button as well as BB, "green" phone and "red" phone. Don't ask me why they thought they needed one button to answer the phone and a different one to hang up when there may have also been on screen touch buttons too. As for the back button, I think it functioned a lot like android. I remember missing it when I first switched to iPhone but now I can't remember what it did really. Maybe it closed the app or went back a page while pressing BB (home button, essentially) just went to the home screen and put the app in the switcher? Honestly I can't remember, and BB 10 is probably vastly different from whatever version I was using. I wasn't a dedicated blackberry user, so the switch to iPhone was easy after having a Mac since 09.
Even disregarding touch screen buttons, I've never understood why mobile phones have an "answer" and "hang up" button. You're either in a call or you're not. It's like having two separate power buttons, one for "on" and one for "off".
The swipe gesture is too convenient, so I don't need a back button.
The only downside is developers disabling the gesture, because a left/right swipe sometimes is needed to go to next/previous article on a newspaper app, or to go back/forward while looking at a catalog. So sometimes I swipe to go to previous viewcontroller and I find myself watching another page, quite annoying.
The only downside is developers disabling the gesture, because a left/right swipe sometimes is needed to go to next/previous article on a newspaper app, or to go back/forward while looking at a catalog. So sometimes I swipe to go to previous viewcontroller and I find myself watching another page, quite annoying.
Hah, I realized looking at photos that my Samsung flip phone had Send and End, essentially answer and hang up. Why? I'm glad Apple doesn't see the need for that either as dedicated buttons or onscreen. I suppose back in the day with dedicated buttons there was a need for aesthetic balance.
iPhone does the same thing.
That particular example is finding a stipulation in the wording of the directions.
If you compose an email via the widget and hit the back button it will take you to the beginning of the email app. Duh. That is exactly where I thought it would go. I'm surprised you and an the author of that would think otherwise.
On an iPhone, open an email in the notification center. When its open swipe back. It just did the exact same thing and went to the previous email screen which like Android should have probably have been exactly what you were expecting. NOT to go back back to notification center.
The premise of the back button in Android is sound, but the implementation is often not so good. The back button should take you back to the previous screen you were viewing, even if that screen was a different app.
So, for example, opening a link in Youtube from a web page would mean the back button should take you back to the web page and close Youtube.
If you've gone forwards within an app, pressing the back button should take you back within the app (Such as a previous web page)
It's just an extra navigation method - Android also has a home button and a running apps button - whoever is pressing back 25 times to exit an app (reference above) needs to learn how to use their phone!
When I've had an Android phone I found it very useful but haven't missed it on my iPhone to be honest
So, for example, opening a link in Youtube from a web page would mean the back button should take you back to the web page and close Youtube.
If you've gone forwards within an app, pressing the back button should take you back within the app (Such as a previous web page)
It's just an extra navigation method - Android also has a home button and a running apps button - whoever is pressing back 25 times to exit an app (reference above) needs to learn how to use their phone!
When I've had an Android phone I found it very useful but haven't missed it on my iPhone to be honest
Why do people insist on saying something will NEVER happen simply because something doesnt exist in the Apple product line right now?
Article (from 2011): Apple Blows us Away with Smart Bezel Details!
Article: MacRumors - Apple Exploring Smart Bezel with Illuminated Buttons
The idea of adding more shortcuts is something that Apple has clearly been tossing around for years. Just because it doesnt exist today doesnt mean it wont ever exist. So why would anyone be so adamant about disproving a possibility when Apple has already made it possible?
Article (from 2011): Apple Blows us Away with Smart Bezel Details!
Article: MacRumors - Apple Exploring Smart Bezel with Illuminated Buttons
The idea of adding more shortcuts is something that Apple has clearly been tossing around for years. Just because it doesnt exist today doesnt mean it wont ever exist. So why would anyone be so adamant about disproving a possibility when Apple has already made it possible?
Funny how most people here never had an android in hand. The back button function is "back". How is it related to the home button on idevices? Most iapps have a back button too, located in the top left hand of the screen.... I switched for a year to Android and having the back button at the bottom, always there is what I miss the most on my iPhone 6.
Free tip. Tell your friend to hit the Home Button. It's like on iOS. You click it and it takes you home.