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A big reason why so many people still use three-button navigation is Samsung.
DespiteGalaxy deviceshaving gesture navigation built-in, Samsung defaults to three-button out of the box.
You have tomanually switch to gesturesyourself—not everyone will know they can do that.
Justin Duino / How-To Geek
More Screen Real Estate
Let’s start with the most obvious argument: screen real estate.
Simply put, by removing the navigation bar, you get more screen space for other things.
However, it does make a noticeable difference.
Faster App Switching
Multitasking is another benefit of gesture navigation.
It’s quicker to switch between recent apps with a gesture than tapping buttons.
Either way, it’s two taps.
It’s considerably quicker than tapping.
This is why gestures feel more fluid than three-button navigation.
As silly as it might sound, tapping a touchscreen is more of a “chore” than swiping.
With each tap you’re waiting for the associated action.
Swiping feels like a more immediate response.
Swiping feels like a more natural interaction with a touchscreen.
Taps can be imprecise, while swipes are generally more forgiving.
It’s far easier todo it one handed.
It feels very tangible to literally fling the current app away as the home screen comes into view.
That’s a big part of why I think gesture navigation is better than three-button navigation.
I feel more connected to the operating system with gestures.
It’s in the way.
Of course, Android’s gesture navigation system isn’t perfect.
The “Back” gesture can interfere with side menus in some apps, for example.
Gestures are the future.
