[cmikhow#AC]

Exclusive: Apple will remove home button on next iPad and iPhone; Photo Booth and iLife coming? | BGR | Boy Genius Report

Surprised this isn't on tipb yet.

[Cleveland]

Nice find... that'd be pretty sweet, would make sense with the advances in the OSX Lion that comes out this year... with all the multitouch gestures it has on the magic mouse

[jdavis530]

I am actually pretty excited for this.

[kittykatta]

I've always felt the publics love of "no buttons" has more to do with worshipping Steve than being practical. Having awesome multitouch gestures doesn't mean buttons should disappear. And in comparison to other phones not caught up in this "touch only" phase, a row of physical shortcut buttons enhances the phones overall usability.

[iquinn]

I've always felt the publics love of "no buttons" has more to do with worshipping Steve than being practical. Having awesome multitouch gestures doesn't mean buttons should disappear. And in comparison to other phones not caught up in this "touch only" phase, a row of physical shortcut buttons enhances the phones overall usability.

I would argue that it has more to do with ascetics then anything else. Apple products appeal to people even before they pick them up. The amazing thing that Apple has been able to do over the years is to make beautiful products that just work. I have no doubt that if Apple does this most users will have no issue with it what so ever.

[kittykatta]

I would argue that it has more to do with ascetics then anything else. Apple products appeal to people even before they pick them up.

Right. Im not trying to slam Apple by pointing this out since I've been fully entrenched in the Apple "lifestyle" since the 90's, but at some point then Apple crossed a line where Aesthetics interfered with functionality. Their obsession with "Thin" is a good example of where sacrifices in power/features were made simply for satisfying a "feature" that nobody was really begging for. My 2010 iPod Touch is razor thin but the volume/power buttons are extremely awkward due and the .2mpx camera is straight out of 1998 because this is all they could fit.

The amazing thing that Apple has been able to do over the years is to make beautiful products that just work. I have no doubt that if Apple does this most users will have no issue with it what so ever.

Thats my point. Most users will have no issue because most users don't want to think for themselves anymore. Jobs says "Touchscreen iMacs wont work" and everyone jumps on it as gospel while completely ignoring the fact that Touchscreen doesnt REPLACE the mouse, it COMPLIMENTS existing input methods and offers users more flexibility. So what "just works" is subject to how much thought you put into it. A home button "just works". A physical orientation lock "Just Work(ed)". A buttoned mouse "just works". So just because cool new gestures are being introduced doesnt mean it should be the ONLY way to make a product "just work" and every other input method should be eliminated.

[Jellotime91]

^ A bit off topic but it's been proven that touch screen desktops are not ergonomically sound and are generally too tiring to use.

Why should they bring a functionality that nobody will use after a day?

[ChrisGonzales90]

Geee whats next, no more physical volume control buttons, no power/sleep wake button, no mute switch? how the hell will we use those if there are no physical buttons?

Well if they do remove the home button, perhaps they could make the screen a bit larger? 3.7 at least? I'm not too sure about this, sure it looks cool and I saw the video, but would this work in the real world? Would first time users even know how to use it. (with out watching videos or anyone telling them)

Like on my EVO, I have the power button (that I wish was more iPhone like, spring loaded), the volume keys and touch sensitive controls that light up when pressed, or in the dark.

The way I see it. Keep the home button, but make it thinner. Just enough to press and do its job, (or have a touch sensitive button) but also allow this multitouch thing to work too. Perhaps the home button could double as a short cut button? Press it and it launches your favorite program or even the multitasking menu (by pressing it only once)

No offence, but this seems more like a "coolness" factor, then a functional one.

[anon(4698833)]

One thing that concerns me though is the idea that, without a physical power button, wouldn't it seem more likely that a phone would become TOTALLY bricked without a good ability to reset it? I mean, with the touch buttons within the system that is locked up, it would be difficult to get around that issue...

[sidspappy]

I like the idea of no face button. But practical concerns arise here. How do you wake from sleep? How to reset frozen interface?

Still, you know Steve dreams about a clean black soap bar of an iPhone...

I'm on the fence about whether this is ever going to happen or not. I give it 50/50 chance.

[slide]

I'm all for this. It will make my iPhone 4 and iPad 1 more valuable as people find how much they dislike the gesture instead of button UI.

[Ariyala]

I don't know about this. I like my "lone" button! It takes me home. I guess we'll see.

[slide]

Stupid stuff like Apple losing out to MSFT insisting on the religion of one button mice.

[kittykatta]

They took out the button on the Palm Pre and I found it to be annoying because you no longer can tell which side is up when answering/grabbing your phone. The look of a faceless slab is appealing but not necessarily ideal in day to day use.

[icarus7]

I like the idea of no face button. But practical concerns arise here. How do you wake from sleep? How to reset frozen interface?

Double tap the standby button