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Hidden interface controls that affect usability

(interactions.acm.org)
559 points cxr | 8 comments | 05 Jul 25 23:10 UTC | HN request time: 1.055s | source | bottom
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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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strogonoff ◴[06 Jul 25 04:28 UTC] No.44477844[source]▶
I am firmly in the “key UI elements should be visible” camp. I also agree that Apple violates that rule occasionally.

However, I think they do a decent job at resisting it in general, and specifically I disagree that removing the home button constitutes hiding an UI element. I see it as a change in interaction, after which the gesture is no longer “press” but “swipe” and the UI element is not a button but edge of the screen itself. It is debatable whether it is intuitive or better in general, but I personally think it is rather similar to double-clicking an icon to launch an app, or right-clicking to invoke a context menu: neither have any visual cues, both are used all the time for some pretty key functions, but as soon as it becomes an intuition it does not add friction.

You may say Apple is way too liberal in forcing new intuitions like that, and I would agree in some cases (like address bar drag on Safari!), but would disagree in case of the home button (they went with it and they firmly stuck with it, and they kept around a model with the button for a few more years until 2025).

Regarding explaining the lack of home button: on iOS, there is an accessibility feature that puts on your screen a small draggable circle, which when pressed displays a configurable selection of shortcuts—with text labels—including the home button and a bunch of other pretty useful switches. Believe it or not, I know people who kept this circle around specifically when hardware home button was a thing, because they did not want to wear out the only thing they saw as a moving part!

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1. fauigerzigerk ◴[06 Jul 25 07:52 UTC] No.44478699[source]▶
>the gesture is no longer “press” but “swipe” and the UI element is not a button but edge of the screen itself.

Right, but while it's obvious to everyone that a button is a control, it's not obvious that an edge is a control. On top of that, swiping up from the bottom edge triggers two completely different actions depending on exactly when/where you lift your finger off the screen.

Why not move the physical home button to the back of the phone?

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2. strogonoff ◴[06 Jul 25 13:06 UTC] No.44480494[source]▶
I think a button that is located behind the screen fits the definition of “hidden interface control” more so than a swipeable screen edge.

Forwhat it’s worth, back tap is a feature of iOS to which you can assign an action, though it only triggers on double or triple tap.

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3. fauigerzigerk ◴[06 Jul 25 15:27 UTC] No.44481558[source]▶
>I think a button that is located behind the screen fits the definition of “hidden interface control” more so than a swipeable screen edge.

I couldn't disagree more.

A big physical button on the surface of the device that is both visible and touchable is completely unmissable. More importantly, it's unmistakably a control. There is simply no other explanation for its existence than being a control.

The edge of the screen on the other hand exists because the screen has to end somewhere. There is no hint whatsoever that it doubles as a control when touched in a certain way or that it doubles as multiple different controls when touched slightly differently.

That said, I'm not a dogmatic "UI physicalist" (if that's a thing). I hate the physical mute switch for instance and I'm not a huge fan of the physical double click to authorise purchases. And I don't want scrollbars constantly in my face.

I do believe that new ways of interacting with hardware can be introduced over time even if hidden. There's a legitimate trade-off beteween discoverability and productivity once you're familiar with the way a device works.

The problem is that some people really struggle with gestures even when they know they exist. I watched people fail to answer calls on Android because it required them to swipe up an on-screen icon.

The number of things you can do swiping or just touching somewhere near the bottom of the screen is staggering and constantly changing.

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4. fingerlocks ◴[07 Jul 25 10:32 UTC] No.44488737[source]▶
Settings -> Accessibility -> Touch -> Back Tap -> Tap Back of iPhone for Home

You're welcome

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5. fauigerzigerk ◴[07 Jul 25 11:18 UTC] No.44489044[source]▶
The point of the home button was that it's an obvious, unmissable control. A hidden gesture that's off by default is pretty much the exact opposite of that.
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6. strogonoff ◴[07 Jul 25 12:27 UTC] No.44489656{3}[source]▶
> There is no hint

Like there is no hint for double click, right-click context menu, pinch to zoom, force/long tap, swipe anywhere in any direction, etc. I do not want to repeat my comment. To each their own.

7. strogonoff ◴[07 Jul 25 12:30 UTC] No.44489682[source]▶
How well does it work? I configured some action on back tap, but on my old phone it only allows binding it to double tap and triggers strictly accidentally (I cannot trigger it when I actually want to). Are you saying new iPhones have better sensors that improve back tap?
8. fingerlocks ◴[08 Jul 25 09:31 UTC] No.44498456{3}[source]▶
You can bring back the home button in virtual form as well, also in accessibility settings.