On screen vs Off Screen Buttons

[JR A]

I vote for off screen (capacitive) buttons.

I have an LG G Pro (which is the most underrated flagship of Android phones IMHO), and was looking forward to the G3 and G Pro 2... but they have on screen buttons, which I do not prefer. Clunky, and they irritate me when I'm trying to watch a movie or get a full screen of something. Yes, I know KitKat addresses these issues, but it's still bothersome to the experience and I still prefer off screen buttons just like how the G Pro and S5/Note3 are...

What say ye?

 

[zorak950]

I've always been of the mind that if you're going to have a giant bottom bezel anyway, you might as well have hardware buttons. I have to say, though, Jellybean and Kit Kat have won me over to on-screen buttons. I thought they'd be annoying when I came to the Nexus 4 from the Nexus S, but I came to appreciate their dynamic qualities, and they always seemed to go away when it mattered. Now I have difficulty going without them.

 

[Amia BooMaster]

On screen is technically better. They are customizable and will never wear out and can be hidden. That being said I can understand physical Burtons being a note 3 owner. Have full screen all of the time does rock.

 

[z33dev33l]

Should the phone lock up, those onscreen buttons become pretty useless. I'll generally prefer capacitive.

 

[xchange]

I prefer onscreen. It helps me farm hbm wave G easier on Castle Clash and pillage your base on CoC

 

[zorak950]

Should the phone lock up, those onscreen buttons become pretty useless. I'll generally prefer capacitive.

Having owned devices with both, I can tell you they're equally useless when the phone locks up. If Android isn't responding, it doesn't matter where the command comes from. Android has become so much more stable over the past few years though that I don't really worry about such things anymore. I've only had to do a forced reset of my Nexus 4 once in the year and a half that I've owned it, whereas on the Nexus S battery pulls were a frequent necessity.

 

[anon8380037]

Should the phone lock up, those onscreen buttons become pretty useless. I'll generally prefer capacitive.

^^ 'Zactly!

Sent from my N9005 using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Ry]

I have no preference.

 

[JeffDenver]

I vote for off screen (capacitive) buttons.

I have an LG G Pro (which is the most underrated flagship of Android phones IMHO), and was looking forward to the G3 and G Pro 2... but they have on screen buttons, which I do not prefer. Clunky, and they irritate me when I'm trying to watch a movie or get a full screen of something. Yes, I know KitKat addresses these issues, but it's still bothersome to the experience and I still prefer off screen buttons just like how the G Pro and S5/Note3 are...

What say ye?

I use both on a regular basis. I prefer on-screen. Navigating is just much faster, and they change orientation with you...your controls are therefore persistent. And this makes navigation far more intuitive IMO.

My HTC Rezound has a KitKat ROM...the first thing I did was disable those capacitive buttons and turn on on-screen buttons. It is so much better now.

 

[anon8380037]

Having owned devices with both, I can tell you they're equally useless when the phone locks up. If Android isn't responding, it doesn't matter where the command comes from. Android has become so much more stable over the past few years though that I don't really worry about such things anymore. I've only had to do a forced reset of my Nexus 4 once in the year and a half that I've owned it, whereas on the Nexus S battery pulls were a frequent necessity.

Yes, but what about the Wacom digitizer, or finger sensor thingy, going kaput. At least you can pretend to be doing something with the back, menu and home buttons. It's always better to have a bit of redundancy, ask a pilot.

 

[zorak950]

Yes, but what about the Wacom digitizer, or finger sensor thingy, going kaput. At least you can pretend to be doing something with the back, menu and home buttons. It's always better to have a bit of redundancy, ask a pilot.

If the digitizer goes out, I struggle to imagine what you'd accomplish with just the capacitive buttons. Maybe if you had a trackball/pad, too...

It's not as though you can't invent some situations in which it would be useful, but in general I've come to find them redundant. Redundancy is all well and good if the lives of 300 people at 30,000 feet are at stake, but for a phone, I think I prefer streamlined and simple.

 

[anon8380037]

If the digitizer goes out, I struggle to imagine what you'd accomplish with just the capacitive buttons. Maybe if you had a trackball/pad, too...

It's not as though you can't invent some situations in which it would be useful, but in general I've come to find them redundant. Redundancy is all well and good if the lives of 300 people at 30,000 feet are at stake, but for a phone, I think I prefer streamlined and simple.

True. I've only had 2 Samsung's; before that Sony Ericssons with wheels and buttons and switches and buttons.
I never had Android with on screen buttons, only tried some others'. I know Kitkat improved them and they disappear more quickly.
I'll stay old school. Buttons and switches will make a comeback!

 

[zorak950]

I'll stay old school. Buttons and switches will make a comeback!

Fight the power, man.

 

[A895]

On screen buttons. Power button and volume button on the right side. Motorola has spoiled me in regards to this.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[LightaDroid]

Starting to love the on screen better...
Kinda getting use to it now..

Posted from Google Nexus 5

 

[LeoRex]

Should the phone lock up, those onscreen buttons become pretty useless. I'll generally prefer capacitive.

Just as useless as hardware buttons... in both cases, you're doing the Android equivilent of the three finger salute... in my Nexus 5's cases, it's hold down both up and down volume and the power button... after a timeout, it'll turn off. If your phone is torqued up, HW or SW... those nav buttons are toast.

That being said, I've had phones that are on either camp and I MUCH prefer the softkeys. First, I've really come to like the look you get without the hardware buttons. The Nexus 5 and LG G2 just have a clean, high-tech look. I had an SIII prior to my Nexus 5, and the home button wasn't the most comfortable to use. I have large hands and had to turn my thumb (which I jacked up playing vollyball in HS) a bit to hit it right. I ended up using Pie controls on my SIII, ignoring the HW buttons completely.... once I went that route, that space was just wasted.

Yes, softkeys do take a little away from the bottom of the screen.... but you can get that back easy enough with immersive modes, then get your keys back with something like using PIE. Or I can shrink the nav bar height, or add or remove buttons, lots of possibilities.

 

[icyrock1]

Captive/Physical, because when you search the internet in landscape mode, on screen buttons on my Nexus 5 go to the right hand side. I'm left handed. This is a HUGE inconvenience and annoyance. I would really like google to add a left-hand mode for the buttons.

 

[SactoKingsFan]

I've had both and prefer on screen buttons since they can be customized and on many phones adapt to screen orientation and various apps.

Sent from my G2 running SOKP

 

[anon(7911184)]

 

[Billy Bob Jimmy Joe]

I would prefer on screen buttons on my Zenfone. The off screen buttons do not light up. It's quite hard to use in the dark.

Asus Zenphone 2 (4GB RAM)