For years, Android smartphones have allowed users to choose their preferred navigation mode. Between gestures and buttons, choosing between these two modes can fundamentally change the way you navigate your smartphone’s UI. Gesture navigation is a “newer” method compared to the three-button mode that was a staple of previous Android smartphones, but some still prefer the simpler button navigation.
Which navigation mode do you prefer to use on your Android smartphone?
3-button and gesture navigation
When you first set up your phone, you are given the option to use 3-button navigation or gesture navigation.
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With 3-button navigation, the main home button is in the middle and will always bring you back to your home screen when tapped or activated. Twins long press. Then, on one side, you have the back button, which simply takes you back to the last screen you were on, or you can pull out your on-screen keyboard. Finally, depending on the OEM, there’s the Recent Apps button, which can look like a square, a three-line symbol, or something in between. Tapping this will show you your open apps.
Many OEMs even allow you to change the order of the buttons.
With gesture navigation, you still have the same functions, but the buttons are gone and replaced by a single bar at the bottom of the screen. To go home from an app, you swipe up and quickly release, almost like swiping the app up and away. Swipe from either side of the screen to go back, or swipe and hold to view the screen you’re sending to (you can cancel the back gesture by dragging your finger back to the edge of the screen).
Finally, you can open the Recent Apps view by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and holding for a second before releasing.
Android has fully supported gesture navigation since its release Android 10as well as its popularity iPhone Xupdated apple‘s iPhone line-up by removing the physical button found in previous models. For some, this might seem like a tough move, but many have gone for it and still prefer gesture navigation. The advantage of this method is that it provides a full-screen experience because the bottom navigation buttons do not take up space.
However, there are certainly those who prefer the simplicity of the three-button mode, as they will spend less time accidentally exiting the program or dealing with failed attempts to register a gesture. Some people with certain motor disabilities may also find gesture navigation difficult, although the same may be true for others with three-button navigation.
Of course, you can change this after the phone settings, but we are creatures of habit, we stick with what we know. So which navigation method do you prefer? Leave us a comment and tell us why!
