I like it on my M8.
Sometimes, people ask what phone is that, and I forget, I'm like "ooooh it's that Taiwanese manufacturer, you know, it's something like, RTC or HTP or something"
But the name is right there, whenever I need it. And even if my phone is face down, there is a reminder on the back too!
Then usually they say "Oh yeah HTC, I've heard of them, but they never have any physical home buttons or fingerprint scanner"
To which I reply "Just you wait for the M9+, just you wait!!"
I hope this clears everything up and you now have a better understanding of the use and functionality of these design features