why do people dislike capacitive buttons?

[scosch]

I see some people posing that they dislike the capacitive buttons. I've seen the same comment about other phones as well. I don't understand what the reason(s) is/are. They're buttons- you push them, they do things. Does it have something to do with the on screen buttons disappearing to allow more screen to be used for whatever is being displayed?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[gollum18]

Its because they take up "valuable" screen real estate. That's the biggest excuse I hear.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[clarker07]

I see some people posing that they dislike the capacitive buttons. I've seen the same comment about other phones as well. I don't understand what the reason(s) is/are. They're buttons- you push them, they do things. Does it have something to do with the on screen buttons disappearing to allow more screen to be used for whatever is being displayed?

I know some people like how on screen buttons can change. Like when the screen is in landscape or when the back button changes to a button the lower the keyboard.

I like capacitive better, but just my preference.

Sent from my Droid Maxx

 

[cliberti]

Its because they take up "valuable" screen real estate. That's the biggest excuse I hear.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Yet on the Maxx it is not a part of the screen and is in fact below the screen

 

[scosch]

Yet on the Maxx it is not a part of the screen and is in fact below the screen

That's what I thought too when I looked at it in the store today. And even if they did take up part of where the screen might be, to me, it's not as though they eat up a bunch of screen real estate. Android phone screens are huge enough as it is now.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Chiplg]

I think some hate them because they want the phone to be a pretty black slab. I'd rather not have anything cluttering up my screen. I want to be able to have whatever app is running take up the entire screen, and have the capacitive buttons there off the screen where I can access them at a moment's notice. At first I was interested in the LG G2's ability to customize the on screen buttons, but I really don't care. I don't care if they are customizable. I don't care if they rotate. If they are on the screen, they are in my way.

As for the capacitive buttons, the only thing that bothers me is that there is not a standard for them. They moved the back button from where it was on the RAZR. I'll get used to it, but I shouldn't have to. They also changed what the buttons were and how many. I don't get the hatred of the menu button. I was happy to see that I can set the app button to function as a menu button from a long press. Personally, I was fine whit the long press of the Home button to get recent apps, and a dedicated menu button.

It is almost as if Google wants them on screen because they don't know what buttons they want to be there, or what their train of thought will be on the next release.

 

[vzzoom]

I'm liking the captive buttons except i miss the search button (coming from bionic). I use screen filter app to turn off the back-light on screen captive buttons when i don't need them to be lit up. I agree with Chiplg I wish there was a standard for captive buttons, it would make the transition easier when spending 2 years with a phone and switching to a new one.I keep catching myself looking for the search button to type something into the browser or destination in maps.

 

[mistermojorizin]

it's my first phone with capacitative buttons. i would like them if there were 5 of them - back, home, recent, menu, and search. that's how i had my onscreen buttons. also, they don't dim during video playback like onscreen buttons do. on the maxx i do get a menu function but it works by holding the recent button and then releasing it (i don't know how long to hold, because the menu function is not triggered until the release; so it's not hold until menu pops up)

 

[TheLibertarian]

I see some people posing that they dislike the capacitive buttons. I've seen the same comment about other phones as well. I don't understand what the reason(s) is/are. They're buttons- you push them, they do things. Does it have something to do with the on screen buttons disappearing to allow more screen to be used for whatever is being displayed?

Posted via Android Central App

Honestly? It's entirely personal preference. The only argument I can see for on screen buttons is that there is no possibility of the buttons failing due to hardware (i.e. iPhone or Galaxy buttons).

I prefer on screen buttons because of their flexibility, but one way or the other, buttons are buttons and they all perform similar tasks.

 

[thomase00]

If a device is going to have dedicated buttons as opposed to on-screen, then I would prefer physical/mechanical buttons over capactive.

This is due to my earlier experience with a Droid Incredible 2. When holding the phone in landscape mode and playing a game, it is VERY easy to accidentally trigger one of the capacitive buttons and bring you out of the app. Whenever I gave the phone to my children in order to play a game, it was less than 5 seconds before they were accidentally dumped to the home screen with "Uh, oh, Daddy!"

For android devices with hidden on-screen buttons in immersive mode, it is much more difficult to accidentally trigger one of the navigation buttons because you have to swipe them on screen first. Immersive mode would be EVEN BETTER if there were an option to require a more complicated multi-touch gesture in order to reveal the buttons (e.g. 2 finger swipe) in order to further reduce accidents.

Note that this kind of accidental press almost NEVER happens with the iPhone because the single button is physical.