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Can Apple please retire this?

PsykX said:
It will most likely go away in 2-4 years, when everybody is used to these mechanics.
If someone has an iPhone 8 or SE and upgrades to a whole size display, these people will be lost if Apple removes it already.
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To be honest though, unlike a Home button, that bar isn’t self-explanatory at all.

Even my 65-year old dad never needed that visible bar to learn that swiping up from the bottom of the display will get him to the home screen. I had to teach him that gesture once but after that, he was good to go.
 
TinaBelcher said:
Honestly, this hideous thick vertical line at the bottom gotta go!

Everyone with a button-less iPhone knows how to swipe, and it serves no value anymore. On the lock screen there's another one for the control center, I mean, this is getting ridiculous. It's like Apple thinks we're too unintelligent to know that we can swipe and need permanent instructions. The vertical line is even longer and thicker on the iPad and looks so weird between two split apps.

View attachment 1810137

it also takes up way too much space in the bottom where we have navigation for our apps, which could've been pushed down if it wasn't for the horizontal line. There should be an option to toggle this off in settings, or how about just having a tutorial on swiping/managing apps when resetting your phone!!
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I disagree. Visual aesthetics < UI discoverability.
 
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Doesn’t bother me. I don’t pay it much attention. Usually looking at the content far above it.
 
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It doesn’t particularly work as a way to tell you can swipe either (for people who are really new). Apple are just satisfying an internal UI policy about including a visual indicator for an action but without adding much actual value.
 
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But for new users they will want it. I really like finger print scanner but I do not own one anylonger.
 
PsykX said:
It will most likely go away in 2-4 years, when everybody is used to these mechanics.
If someone has an iPhone 8 or SE and upgrades to a whole size display, these people will be lost if Apple removes it already.
Click to expand...
I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to work out how to go home, not that hard. 😂 worse case scenario, ask a friend or call apple. 🤦‍♂️🙄

Home bar needs to go asap.
 
nebulosan said:
I can live with that line.

The “previous app label” in the upper left corner on the other hand…
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What?! I love that button to return to the previous app. I use it almost daily!! :p

As for the home bar, much like the notch, it disappeared for me almost instantly. Would I like a toggle to disable it? Sure. But is it the end of the world for me if I need to see a few white pixels out of the corner of my eye? Not one bit.
 
PsykX said:
If you're a young adult like me - no problem.

There's too many things in the realm of computing that are "not that hard", yet the elderly requires help really often.
Click to expand...

Having the bar there doesn't really help the elderly either. It's not exactly self explanatory that you have to swipe unlike a button you can simply push.
 
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I personally think it’s a very useful visual cue. It’s also not going away because it makes the iPhone recognisable, just like the notch.

Also, the previous app button should’ve been shifted to the bottom left in iOS 15, Control Center shifted to the bottom right.
 
TinaBelcher said:
Everyone with a button-less iPhone knows how to swipe
Click to expand...
speak for yourself. There are ton of people who just got their first non-touchID iPhone and they would have been lost without this small visual cue. I agree there could be an option to hide the bar for more "experienced" users who already know how to navigate without a home button.
 
I don’t see the issue. The only time I look at it is when I read one of these posts. Don’t people swipe the content up so the bit they’re consuming is in the top 1/3 or is that just me?
 
So does no one use the home bar to swipe right or left to switch between apps? Seems like everyone is only talking about swiping up…which I would agree, the home bar would probably not be needed if swiping up was the only gesture.

I think the home bar is more about giving us the ability to swipe right/left to switch between apps quickly. It gives you something to grab onto and interact with. Sure, you could probably argue that the home bar doesn’t need to be visible for that either…just swipe at the bottom of the screen, but then how is it supposed to know if you meant to scroll horizontally in the app, or switch between apps? It’d just cause confusion. (Meant to scroll, but it switched apps; or meant to switch apps, but it scrolled.) We’d be back to the four-finger swipe gesture on the iPad as our only option. Not sure about the iPhone, there’s no other way to switch between apps quickly. It used to be a 3D Touch gesture, but that’s dead.
 
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BigBlur said:
So does no one use the home bar to swipe right or left to switch between apps? Seems like everyone is only talking about swiping up…which I would agree, the home bar would probably not be needed if swiping up was the only gesture.

I think the home bar is more about giving us the ability to swipe right/left to switch between apps quickly. It gives you something to grab onto and interact with. Sure, you could probably argue that the home bar doesn’t need to be visible for that either…just swipe at the bottom of the screen, but then how is it supposed to know if you meant to scroll horizontally in the app, or switch between apps? It’d just cause confusion. (Meant to scroll, but it switched apps; or meant to switch apps, but it scrolled.) We’d be back to the four-finger swipe gesture on the iPad as our only option. Not sure about the iPhone, there’s no other way to switch between apps quickly. It used to be a 3D Touch gesture, but that’s dead.
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I almost never use home bar to switch apps. Either I swipe up for multitasking or use keyboard to switch when I am using one. Many people in this thread might also be in my position regarding the home bar and treat it as an eyesore or obstruction when using certain apps (mostly games).
 
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Not a fan of it either. I'm also amazed when I show people that they can swipe back and forth between open apps by sliding their finger across the bottom of the phone.

No one ever reads how to properly use their devices, but that's a whole other topic.
 
I still think it's important for app switching and reachability, just for a reference point to swipe down or sideways.

I personally not too fond of swiping gestures (maybe because I'm not used to it). Even on my S21, I use the regular Android three virtual buttons. Imo buttons are a lot more user friendly, and the intent is obvious (eg. a home button, you go to home). Swiping to home can also be annoying with ever thinning bezels, especially on full-screen apps like games. At least for me personally.
 
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swarlos said:
I’m shocked no one has said this but the home bar is actually horizontal not vertical.

But I agree LOL when I jailbroke my 11PM last year first thing I did was install two tweaks that removed the home bar and moved everything down.
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Spelling mistake 🤣 And weirdly enough I actually corrected it to horizontal, but for some reason, it didn't save the word "horizontal"... or perhaps a staff member thought it'll be fun to keep it "vertical" lol!
 
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