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Hidden interface controls that affect usability

(interactions.acm.org)
559 points cxr | 1 comments | 05 Jul 25 23:10 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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nsriv ◴[06 Jul 25 00:13 UTC] No.44476613[source]▶
Very slightly unrelated, but this trend is one of the reasons I went Android after the iPhone removed the home button. I think it became meaningfully harder to explain interactions to older users in my family and just when they got the hang of "force touch" it also went away.

First thing I do on new Pixel phones is enable 3 button navigation, but lately that's also falling out of favor in UI terms, with apps assuming bottom navigation bar and not accounting for the larger spacing of 3 button nav and putting content or text behind it.

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zhivota ◴[06 Jul 25 01:37 UTC] No.44477055[source]▶
I am the same, long time Android user and when I borrow my wife's iPhone it is an exercise in frustration. Interactions are hidden, not intuitive, or just plain missing.

Now that Pixel cameras outclass iPhone cameras, and even Samsung is on par, there is really no reason to ever switch to the Apple ecosystem anymore IMO.

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jama211 ◴[06 Jul 25 04:06 UTC] No.44477740[source]▶
If you were a long time iphone user you’d say the same thing about android. It’s just about what you’re used to dude.
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matsemann ◴[06 Jul 25 06:37 UTC] No.44478367{3}[source]▶
Not really. In Android there will be a back button, on iPhone you're supposed to know to swipe in some direction. On Android there will be a button to show running apps, on iPhone you will need to swipe correctly from somewhere. When 3d touch existed I think there were like 11 different ways of pressing the home button depending on context.
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1. int_19h ◴[06 Jul 25 07:02 UTC] No.44478475{4}[source]▶
Android by default is also swipe swipe swipe. You need to tweak the settings to get the older and saner 3-button setup back.

As far as the Back button, on iOS the norm is for it to be present somewhere in the UI of the app in any context where there's a "back" to go to. For cross-app switching, there's an OS-supplied Back button in the status bar on top, again, showing only when it's relevant (admittedly it's very tiny and easy to miss). Having two might sound complicated but tbh I rather prefer it that way because in Android it can sometimes be confusing as to what the single global Back button will do in any given case (i.e. whether it'll navigate within the current app, or switch you back to the previous app).