4 ms·
> how time selection is done -- a lots of movements to scroll numbers to find one I need That's the worst way to pick a time that I've seen and used. It requir
by aasasd 6y ago
> how time selection is done -- a lots of movements to scroll numbers to find one I need
That's the worst way to pick a time that I've seen and used. It requires a lot of swiping, combined with looking for the precise moment to stop the scrolling and not overshoot.
Thankfully in some Android variants it's replaced with much better alternatives. Google Pixel's stock apps in Android 9 and 10 use a round watch face for time points—where you pick first the hour, then the minute with one tap each. However, this still requires rather precise finger work (and has animation in the middle). The best interface IMO is what Pixel and Philips' phones use in the timer: you just type the minute and the second (or the hour and the minute) in four digits, with a huge number pad on the screen. Philips did better here because its pad occupied most of the screen so the tap targets are larger. The benefit of this interface is that you easily develop muscle memory for it, practically no aiming is required.
‘Simple Mobile Tools’ make pretty good apps which are open-source and are present in F-Droid (https://www.simplemobiletools.com https://www.simplemobiletools.com). Alas their ‘Simple Clock’ uses scroll spinners in the timer, but perhaps you could ask them to reconsider. I can help with screens from the better interfaces.
- aasasd 6y agoWhat really annoys me about the timer is that there's no option for it to chime for ten seconds or so and stop, instead of making me fumble with it and press the button. Because I use the timer every day when cooking, and my hands are often busy and dirty during that—while I can hear the timer loud and clear (especially if I'm listening to audiobooks).
- icebraining 6y ago"Hey google, stop" Voice commands really shine for cooking.
- bennettfeely 6y agoMicrowaves have a perfectly usable and quick timer input method. Is there anyone who thinks swiping and scrolling up and down to pick a time makes things easier? I have no idea why they think a smartphone timer should be any different.
- smichel17 6y agoTangentially, most microwaves are missing a key feature: a combined `start` and `minute plus` (or +30s, whatever) button. It's the kind of thing that seems trivial, but once you've used it, is so blindingly obvious that it's the Right Way To Do Things that you'll wonder why every microwave doesn't do it. I'll never buy a microwave without it again.