I’ve been going about my days, assuming that nearly all Android users are now using gesture navigation. I won’t put an exact percentage on it, but at least the majority of users, right? The gesture navigation found on Android has gotten very fluid over the years, and when compared to the rigidness of the antiquated 3-button layout, it seems more flexible and faster to me.
Then I went on reddit. A Pixel owner by the name of nostalgia-for-beer (nice!) published a very short post, saying, “Just wow. Old school, always did 3 button, never tried gestures until today. Wow.”
This post did some numbers, gaining over 300 upvotes and over 200 comments. Most of the comments were folks either congratulating the user or wondering how they went this long without trying it, but there was also people providing some pro tips on how to maximize the gesture controls. For example, hopefully you all already know that you can swipe on the pill to scroll between recent applications.
Navigation gestures as we know it today was officially released in 2019 with Android 10. The gesture pill dates back to 2018 (Android 9), but in terms of full blown gestures, it was 2019. We have an old video dedicated to Android 10 and gestures in case anyone is feeling nostalgic.
While a few folks on reddit might be using the 3-button layout, I’m safe in assuming that nearly all DL readers are rocking gestures by now, right? If not, please explain yourself in the comments. I’m ready for a fight.