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Wouldn't the new virtual button use haptic feedback ("Force Touch")? If so, the lack of a physical button shouldn't matter. Today's home button (on the 6 and 7

Wouldn't the new virtual button use haptic feedback ("Force Touch")? If so, the lack of a physical button shouldn't matter. Today's home button (on the 6 and 7 series) is also haptic -- if your phone is dead, there's no click. All this means is that they can use the screen real estate for something other than a button in some cases. If you're watching a video, I wouldn't be surprised if the home button still worked, it would just be hidden. (But it wouldn't be a huge loss if it didn't work, either, in my opinion.)

JoshTriplett 9y ago
> All this means is that they can use the screen real estate for something other than a button in some cases. That's exactly what I was describing as a bug, rather than a feature, in this case. A physical button is always there, always works, doesn't make the UI contextual, and gives a novice user confidence that they can always "escape". I personally do prefer to have as much screen real-estate as possible, at the expense of a physical button next to the screen; however, that's not a universal preference, and I would not be at all surprised if more Apple users are particularly fond of that button.
LocalH 9y ago
Pedant corner: The iPhone 6 has a physical home button, with Switch and all (I know this as I am writing this post on one). The haptic home "button" didn't appear until the 7.