4 ms·

> The back button is vestigial tech debt. Gestures are the future. I don't necessarily think that the back button will remain, but I think it SHOULD remain. Ge

> The back button is vestigial tech debt. Gestures are the future. I don't necessarily think that the back button will remain, but I think it SHOULD remain. Gestures are cool, but the back button is like the undo feature: it gives user a visible, clear button to correct a mistake or cancel an action. Gestures are not immediately visible/discoverable, so while for a tech savvy it might not be a problem, for the average consumer (think of your dad, or aunt, or grandpa) it is a usability regression.

whalesalad 8y ago
Devils advocate: the iPhone has never had a physical back button and it's a wildly successful device with people across all walks of life and levels of technical experience. I think a lot of Android users feel this way but it is clear that Android is moving away from physical buttons. It's a crutch that Google is finally getting rid of.
- josteink 8y ago
  In the early iPhone-versions almost all apps had a back-button on the top-left corner during nested navigation. I miss it.
  - whalesalad 8y ago
    Sorry I wasn’t trying to say the UI button is bad, I was referring to the physical button.
  - threeseed 8y ago
    All apps that use UINavigationController i.e. nested still have the back button in the top left corner. Nothing has changed. More a case that apps have moved away from this UI style in favour of other conventions e.g. burger menu.
- cromwellian 8y ago
  On the other hand, most ordinary non-technical folk I know of don't know about about iOS swipe-to-go-back gestures, as iOS has largely moved from buttons to non-discovered swipes, special presses that most people won't know about unless they RTFM which they never do. How many people know about Shake-to-Undo?
  - threeseed 8y ago
    The swipe to go back gesture only applies to navigation controllers in which case there will always be a back button in the top left corner. And yes they removed the home button and replaced it with a swipe up. But they have an annoying dark black line to indicate this. And you literally can’t use your phone without this one, simple gesture.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  Another devil's advocate: undo on iOS is nigh-undiscoverable.

whalesalad 8y ago

Devils advocate: the iPhone has never had a physical back button and it's a wildly successful device with people across all walks of life and levels of technical experience. I think a lot of Android users feel this way but it is clear that Android is moving away from physical buttons. It's a crutch that Google is finally getting rid of.

josteink 8y ago
In the early iPhone-versions almost all apps had a back-button on the top-left corner during nested navigation. I miss it.
- whalesalad 8y ago
  Sorry I wasn’t trying to say the UI button is bad, I was referring to the physical button.
- threeseed 8y ago
  All apps that use UINavigationController i.e. nested still have the back button in the top left corner. Nothing has changed. More a case that apps have moved away from this UI style in favour of other conventions e.g. burger menu.
cromwellian 8y ago
On the other hand, most ordinary non-technical folk I know of don't know about about iOS swipe-to-go-back gestures, as iOS has largely moved from buttons to non-discovered swipes, special presses that most people won't know about unless they RTFM which they never do. How many people know about Shake-to-Undo?
- threeseed 8y ago
  The swipe to go back gesture only applies to navigation controllers in which case there will always be a back button in the top left corner. And yes they removed the home button and replaced it with a swipe up. But they have an annoying dark black line to indicate this. And you literally can’t use your phone without this one, simple gesture.
saagarjha 8y ago
Another devil's advocate: undo on iOS is nigh-undiscoverable.