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There was a time when phones had buttons for more than just volume. It might be ancient history now, but navigating an Android phone used to be a very different experience. The journey from physical clicks to fluid swipes has been a long one—let’s take a look back.
Physical Buttons Galore
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
We start all the way back in 2008, when the first Android phones were launched. These devices were bristling with buttons. You typically had a Home, Menu, Back, and even a dedicated Search button. And, if you were really lucky, you might even remember the joy of a trackball. Not all of these were physical, of course, but many were, giving you that satisfying click with every press.
The very first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, featured especially unique buttons. Not only did it have a physical Home, Back, and Menu button along with a trackball, it also had physical Call Accept and Decline buttons. Several other Android devices, like the HTC Eris, had these buttons, but they didn’t stick around for long.
Capacitive Buttons Move In Quickly
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
As Android matured, those physical buttons soon started to give way to their touch-sensitive, capacitive counterparts. While some early phones dabbled in them, it didn’t take long for them to dominate the landscape. The Home button was one of the last holdouts, often remaining a physical clicker long after its companions went capacitive.
The original Motorola DROID, which was perhaps the first truly mainstream Android phone, had four capacitive buttons up front: Back, Menu, Home, and Search. By the next generation, Motorola had switched the order to Menu, Home, Back, and Search. We’ll talk about button order more later on.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
The buttons in the navigation bar, like everything else, evolved. The Search button was never present on all Android devices, but it was completely gone by around 2013. The removal of the Menu button happened around the same time, but it was a far bigger deal. It had been a staple of app navigation for years.
The truth was that hidden menus that could only be accessed if you knew when to press a button were never good design. Its departure, while eventually leading to more consistent UI design, was a moment of adjustment for many, but ultimately a good thing. The three-dot menu and hamburger icon are far more accessible.
Fingerprint Scanners Arrive
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
As the navigation bar downsized to three buttons, next came the age of the fingerprint scanner. Suddenly, that front and center Home button had a new purpose. Sometimes, it remained a physical button with an integrated scanner. But most of the time, it transitioned to a capacitive button that simply read your print. This allowed for very quickly waking the screen and unlocking the device in one smooth motion. Those first fingerprint scanners were not nearly as secure as today, but it was a start.
The Navigation Bar Goes Virtual
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
A pivotal moment in Android navigation arrived with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This was the version that truly embraced virtual navigation buttons. Suddenly, those omnipresent buttons weren’t physical or even capacitive touchpads on the bezel. They were moved on-screen, which allowed for adapting to the content, and marked a significant shift towards the software-driven experience we know today.
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While some people may still miss the feel of physical buttons, there’s no question that a virtual navigation bar is far more flexible. It allowed for bigger screens on similar sized devices, full-screen video and games, and customization from manufacturers. You could even decide on your own what the buttons should look like.
Back Button…to the Left, to the Left, to the Left
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
For a long time, there wasn’t much consistency in the navigation button order. As mentioned earlier, the buttons would often move between phone generations. Eventually, the Back button came to rest on the right side of the navigation bar. If you’re right-handed, you know this was less than ideal for one-handed use.
Android wisely shifted the Back button to the left, a small but significant ergonomic improvement. However, not everyone got on board with this line of thinking—even to this day. If you’re a Samsung Galaxy owner, you might still find it defaulting to the right side, a quirky reminder of its past. Thankfully, you can change that on your own.
A Hard Pill to Swallow
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Then came Android 9 Pie, and with it, the most awkward phase in Android navigation. After Apple went all in on gestures, Google introduced a pill-shaped gesture bar along with the ever-present Back button. It was a poorly executed attempt to bridge the gap between traditional buttons and the future of gestures. Not many phones outside of the Pixel series adopted this new navigation style, and it didn’t stick around for long.
Gestures Fully Take Over
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Finally, with Android 10, Google went all-in on gesture-based navigation. The back button was removed, and only a thin gesture bar remained. Swipes replaced taps, and the navigation bar as we knew it disappeared. It was a bold move, streamlining the interface and offering a more immersive experience.
Of course, this change wasn’t immediately met with excitement. Switching from buttons to gestures takes time. Especially for those who aren’t as adept with technology. Some manufacturers—mainly Samsung—still ship phones with the classic three-button virtual navigation. But the future remains to be in gesture-based navigation. We’re not going back.
In 2008, I don’t think I could have predicted how Android navigation works today. Seeing someone move around the operating system with various swipes would seem very futuristic and cool. Yet it’s something we barely think about. It’s hard not to wonder what the next big shift will look like. Are we headed for a future where using your hands at all is only for “baby toys“?
