Years ago there was a time when smartphones made it easy to navigate through menus and interfaces.
I don’t have a magic wand Much less do I want to stop evolution In indifferent industries like smartphones. And yet, sometimes, it happens Not all advances always come to improve what we hadAs in this case with the navigation of our mobile phones after the landing of acclaimed formats full viewAll the front screens, which were released in 2018 and which we are enjoying today.
It’s been so many years, I know, we’re getting older. Some will tell me too I want them back ‘Navigation Ball’ By a grandfather onion complex, since multi-touch screens make it easy to click on any part of the interface to control anything, the truth is that there is still some work involved. Having a physical navigation controller is very usefulAnd I don’t say almost essential anymore.
And with that I’ve already revealed what I want to return, and nothing else That little control ball that the Nexus One proudly presents And yes, indeed, Navigation made very easy Web pages jump from link to link, or even by writing text being able to Scroll in a comfortable and intuitive way with finger
Navigation balls were so useful that I don’t understand how we let them get lost in the mists of time: they allowed you to navigate the interface in all directions, made writing easier, served as a configurable action button, and even hid an RGB notification. LEDs.
Not only that, these balls also control They allow us to move in any direction through the menusThey did not need haptic feedback and special vibrators because their functionality was already physical and also They hide additional functionality such as the ability to force them to do something With mobile, a sort of action button that Apple brought to life with the iPhone 15.
There was more, and in the case of my long-awaited Nexus One, that little control ball It also served as a multicolor notification LEDWhich lets you know at a glance and without having to turn on your phone if a notification comes in from any of your favorite apps.
It is true that you lose your ball It was a necessary evil to have a larger screen sizeBut there are still people like me, including myself obviously, who They liked the symmetrical design with completely free and integrated screenIt does require a slightly larger top and bottom frame though.
They were a necessary evil and a matter of time to fall out of ‘full view’ design, as everything has always tended to ditch the physical controls, buttons and connectors that hold it together in favor of digital integration into a screen.
The first evolution has already been tested by HTC with optical buttons/sensors, before ditching the buttons altogether.
Actually, it is that The industry has juggled Recently to leave space on the screen for physical controls without getting in the way of their interface, and I’m referring, for example, to Various navigation gestures, sometimes confusing, Which Google has finally integrated and simplified natively in Android. Former Google engineers were seen looking for ways to write more efficiently, something that, as I said, was easier with physical navigation controls.
Manufacturers also throw their hats in the ring Place the front camera on different systems pop up MechanicsOthers discovered an integrated camera under the OLED screen, though None of these solutions worked For the hole in the screen.
And in the end I reaffirm myself, not everything comes to develop in the right way, because (almost) always the simplest and most effective things are the best. And yes, I am reaffirming myself, because indeed I’d love to see some builders develop on the Nexus One And brought us a modern phone with the same concept, it is one and not the other It was the pinnacle of design and engineering for me. About this smartphone.
The Nexus One had it all. Obviously in his time and without possible comparison to what is now. But that first phone from Google, built by HTC, yes, really It had everything you could expect and needed in the simplest and most accessible wayAlso a beautiful and high quality packaging.
Anyone can do it!
