Why does iOS and iPadOS not have universal back and forward?

[Princess C.]

I know what you are talking about, Im saying the 2nd one is bad design and provides an inconsistent experience. That’s why iOS uses the 1st option

I completely agree with you. I own an iPhone but I'm basically the tech support person in my home and had to learn Android and I do not understand the universal back button at all and I find it more unpredictable.

I feel like the back button should only be to undo the last action within the app and nothing outside of it. On iOS, if I want to go back to the last app I simply swipe the bottom of the navigation bar or go to the app switcher. There is even a button at the top that allows you to go back to the last app if you opened a link that took you to another app. I feel like all of those options are more deliberate than having a blank back button that you aren't sure what it's going to do.

 

[mrochester]

I completely agree with you. I own an iPhone but I'm basically the tech support person in my home and had to learn Andriod and I do not understand the universal back button at all and I find it more unpredictable.

I feel like the back button should only be to undo the last action within the app and nothing outside of it. On iOS, if I want to go back to the last app I simply swipe the bottom of the navigation bar or go to the app switcher. There is even a button at the top that allows you to go back to the last app if you opened a link that took you to another app. I feel like all of those options are more deliberate than having a blank back button that you aren't sure what it's going to do.

And that’s exactly the problem with Android navigation. Unless you have memorised all the previous steps you have taken, you have no idea what the back button is gonna do when you press it.

 

[Shirasaki]

I know what you are talking about, Im saying the 2nd one is bad design and provides an inconsistent experience. That’s why iOS uses the 1st option

Inconsistency but based on different understanding of what “back” should do.

 

[mrochester]

Inconsistency but based on different understanding of what “back” should do.

Back to me doesn’t mean ‘go back any step’ it means ‘go back one step in the app I am currently using’. That’s how it works on operating systems such as windows and macOS.

 

[Shirasaki]

Back to me doesn’t mean ‘go back any step’ it means ‘go back one step in the app I am currently using’. That’s how it works on operating systems such as windows and macOS.

And back to me means going back to whatever I did immediately before now, like a Ctrl+Z in windows. I don’t care what I did in the last moment, including using a completely different app. If I want to go back to that, there should be a way to do as such.

iPadOS has recently used apps showing in the dock, but the last icon is replaced by handoff if you happen to use a different app on a different device, which is also where they put last used app on dock. So many times I tap on the game I want to go back To, but was greeted with safari tab from a different device. It’s utterly annoying.

Something global like what android is doing would solve that annoyance.

 

[mrochester]

And back to me means going back to whatever I did immediately before now, like a Ctrl+Z in windows. I don’t care what I did in the last moment, including using a completely different app. If I want to go back to that, there should be a way to do as such.

iPadOS has recently used apps showing in the dock, but the last icon is replaced by handoff if you happen to use a different app on a different device, which is also where they put last used app on dock. So many times I tap on the game I want to go back To, but was greeted with safari tab from a different device. It’s utterly annoying.

Something global like what android is doing would solve that annoyance.

Ctrl+z only undoes the last action in the active app, it doesn’t switch apps or go back home. Ctrl+z is the way iOS works.

 

[Shirasaki]

Ctrl+z only undoes the last action in the active app, it doesn’t switch apps or go back home. Ctrl+z is the way iOS works.

Yes but if you read my whole comment you will know that I just use Ctrl+Z as example, not saying I like the “back” being limited to only within an app.

 

[mrochester]

Yes but if you read my whole comment you will know that I just use Ctrl+Z as example, not saying I like the “back” being limited to only within an app.

Wrong example then. i can’t think of any other operating system other than Android that does it in an inconsistent way.

 

[Shirasaki]

Wrong example then. i can’t think of any other operating system other than Android that does it in an inconsistent way.

Consistently inconsistent.
Needless to say I’m not happy with iOS implementation of “back” and got frustrated numerous times. It’s just that it’s not bad enough to be a deal breaker.
I didn’t use android long enough to comment on their side of the bargain.

 

[Xil3]

I know what you are talking about, Im saying the 2nd one is bad design and provides an inconsistent experience. That’s why iOS uses the 1st option

This is very subjective from a UX perspective, but I personally disagree with you. The global back gesture works perfectly the way it is. Every time I tried moving back to iOS, I just can't do it after using the Android back gesture for as long as I have.

 

[Xil3]

Yes, and that's what you're confused about here. It's a matter of context:

- App back: button within the app frame, goes back within the app

- Global/os back: global gesture, goes back globally across screen transitions, across different screens and apps

You're talking about and stuck in the first. We're talking about the 2nd. It's probably hard to grasp unless you've actually used it for a while. I've used both iOS and Android consistently for over a decade and really appreciate the global back gesture.

Of course Windows and Macos don't have the 2nd, as they are multi window OSes unconstrained by small screens and generally don't show just one screen at a time.

I wouldn't even waste my time trying to explain something logical to people that have such a narrow minded view of how the UX should be.

 

[mrochester]

I wouldn't even waste my time trying to explain something logical to people that have such a narrow minded view of how the UX should be.

I agree.