Google has said that its upcoming smartphones will only come with gesture-based navigation, with no option to switch to navigation buttons.
Google put an end to all the rumors and speculations regarding the name of Android P by announcing that Android P is Android 9.0 Pie. Amongst all the features that Android Pie brings in, one major feature that comes with this latest version of Android is the gesture-based navigation. And, Google has said that its upcoming smartphones – Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL – will ditch the navigation bar having navigation buttons for the gesture-based navigation.
In an interview with Android Central, EK Chung – UX Manager for Android (Handheld and Pixel) at Google – said that the third-gen Pixel smartphones will come with gesture-based navigation instead of on-screen navigation buttons. In fact, it’s not the just the Pixel 3 series, but all the future Google smartphones will come with gesture-based navigation and there will be no option to enable navigation buttons.
Well, while pushing its navigation gestures is certainly appreciated, it shouldn’t come at the cost of disappointing users. There’s no problem with all future Google smartphones coming with gesture-based navigation, but, what’s problematic is that users won’t have any option to switch to the good old on-screen navigation buttons as and when they want – something like what OnePlus 6 users can do.
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are expected to go official on October 4, which is almost two months away, hence, we can expect Google to change its mind and do provide users the option to switch between navigation gestures and navigation buttons as and when they want.
What’s your opinion? Do you think Google should provide users an option to switch to navigation buttons as and when they want? Or do you think it’s fine for Google to force people into using navigation gestures? Sound-off in the comments down below.
