Google says Android users prefer ergonomics of three-button navigation over gestures

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

One day after releasing the final beta of Android Q, Google is making its most direct case yet for why Q’s new gesture navigation controls are an improvement over what came before. The Verge reported on the company’s reasoning earlier today, and now Google has posted a more thorough explanation to its Android Developer’s Blog. “By moving to a gesture model for system navigation, we can provide more of the screen to apps to enable a more immersive experience,” wrote Android UI product managers Allen Huang and Rohan Shah.
No one is arguing that benefit, but the trouble Google has run into is with Android’s “back” function and figuring out the best way of preserving it with gestures — and making that solution feel second nature to the end…

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