Android N should get rid of the back button.

[tonyr6]

It is super annoying. Many apps "Google apps I am looking at you" I accidentally press the back button and it just stupidly closes the app. I hate this because then I have to relaunch it draining the battery if it a app that is bloated and takes a while to load. Just get rid of the back button and add a back arrow like on iOS. So much easier. What is the big deal as you can still go into the multitask and close the app that way.

 

[SpookDroid]

Are you kidding me?! That's the thing I miss the most when I'm using my work iPhone! I do understand it's annoying when someone who doesn't use Android taps on that button aaaaall the time and you can accidentally press it yourself, but still! At least in my opinion it shouldn't go away.

 

[tonyr6]

I am always pressing the back button to go back to the previous page like I do on a computer web browser or software programs but stupid Google apps always just close when I do that. Only some third party apps actually ask to to press the back button again to close so you don't do it by accident.

 

[anon(9072051)]

I am always pressing the back button to go back to the previous page like I do on a computer web browser or software programs but stupid Google apps always just close when I do that.

Seems like you're arguing that Google needs to get rid of the back button because you can't learn new tricks anymore. I thought cats were better'n that.

 

[SpookDroid]

I am always pressing the back button to go back to the previous page like I do on a computer web browser or software programs but stupid Google apps always just close when I do that. Only some third party apps actually ask to to press the back button again to close so you don't do it by accident.

Mmmm... I don't have that experience. When using any Google app, as long as I'm not in the 'first' screen, the back button does take me back to whatever screen I was in before. Google search? Goes to the previous search or the main Google Now list. Maps? If I'm navigating it goes to search results or the previous location. G-Mail? If I'm no an e-mail it takes me back to the Inbox. Drive? Whatever folder or file I have open, it takes me back one level or to the main drive list. Similar things with YouTube and Play Music.

The only nuisance I think I see (besides the fact that if you have hardware buttons it just screams 'touch me!' and backs out of whatever you're using) is that on YouTube pressing the back button doesn't exit the video to go to the search/video list; it does go back to the list or the previous video, but it minimizes the playback window so you have to take an extra step to make a video stop (and when you're watching someone too annoying, that extra second matters!)

 

[kamaly ElevenK]

I'm looking at the statement and laughing. You are clearly not a android user and you are lazy to learn new things or adopt to things getting rid of the back button is like getting rid of the home button. I pity you.

 

[anon(5719825)]

I hate using an iPhone after using an Android phone, it takes me a little while to remember there is no back button on the iPhone.

The back button is one of the greatest things placed on a phone. Ever.

 

[SpookDroid]

I agree. BUT some people said the same about the menu button once upon a time... and we all know how that turned out.

But yeah, at least for now and for me, the back button is a must. I always struggle with iDevices because I keep 'pressing' the back button by habit haha

 

[Javier P]

Same for me. It's a must, specially for one handed use on a big screen. Please Google, don't remove it!

 

[anon(4086547)]

I would go even further and say Android should get rid of the whole navigation bar. Just a waste of screen. Use gestures instead.

 

[Almeuit]

I have no issue with the back button. I would absolutely hate if they took it out.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Count me in on the back button can stay camp.

 

[mckillio]

Wouldn't a setting to prevent the back button from closing apps be a better option and everyone can be happy? I have the same issue as you and it can drive me crazy.

 

[tonyr6]

Wouldn't a setting to prevent the back button from closing apps be a better option and everyone can be happy? I have the same issue as you and it can drive me crazy.

That actually would have been a better solution. Thanks. I should have worded my post differently.

 

[SpookDroid]

While we're at it and for the sake of buttons... What about bringing back hardware home buttons to all devices?

#LongLiveTheHomeButton

 

[anon(9072051)]

What about bringing back hardware home buttons to all devices?

Boy. Give 'em an inch, and they always want a mile. No! No more hardware buttons, clicky or not!

You can make the fingerprint scanner double as a Home button if you must, but please stick it on the back of the phone, like the 6P. And if you don't like onscreen "buttons," let's shoot for voice commands for basic navigation.

 

[anon(5719825)]

Boy. Give 'em an inch, and they always want a mile. No! No more hardware buttons, clicky or not!

You can make the fingerprint scanner double as a Home button if you must, but please stick it on the back of the phone, like the 6P. And if you don't like onscreen "buttons," let's shoot for voice commands for basic navigation.

I hope you realize he wasn't serious.

 

[anon(9072051)]

I hope you realize he wasn't serious.

No more than I was, I hope. I only use exclamation pts for laughs. (But I still don't like phones with hardware buttons up front.)

 

[SpookDroid]

I was kidding But also not really haha I AM a fan of hardware buttons because I don't like wasting screen real estate with those, but I know I'm not the 'popular kid' when it comes to that. And I also like Samsung's home button, so I get beaten up for that as well haha.

I tried the buttons in the back with the G4 and while most people said that's where their fingers naturally rest, it just wasn't my case. Not sure if I have alien hands or I hold my phones in weird ways, but after 3 days of using the G4 my fingers actually hurt because I was stretching them up to get to the buttons. Plus a home button on the back makes it impractical when you want to unlock your phone while on a desk or in a car holder (I know, you shouldn't use your phone and drive, but still).

 

[zkSharks]

The whole physical/capacitive keys vs. softkeys debate is another matter, but at least we can dismiss the navbar if Immersive Mode is implemented where appropriate... though if we're talking about a display size equal to that of the iPhone SE, the lost screen real-estate might be more of an annoyance.

The notion of removing the back button has far-reaching consequences though. A core aspect of app navigation in Android is the difference between temporal and ancestral navigation and the back and up actions, both among the activities of one application and those of multiple.

Providing Ancestral and Temporal Navigation
Navigation with Back and Up
Tasks and Back Stack

The effect is most apparent when your workflow moves from one application to the next -- going from a contacts list to email composure, or from the camera to photo manipulation to social media sharing. The back button gives you freedom to move within the app you're looking at, without sacrificing the history of activities you came from.