Edge gesture app switch

asked 2014-01-17 23:20:42 +0300

bilgy_no1
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updated 2014-12-29 13:06:07 +0300

tokaru
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I'd like to be able to use an edge gesture for switching to the last used app. This would make it easier to go back and forth between apps, without having to go through the home screen.

It could also cycle through the open apps with repeated swipes.

Ideally, there would be one edge gesture for swapping, and one to go to home, and users being able to choose their preferred left/right setup.

Edit (by tokaru): Why the current implementation is time-consuming (and sometimes annoying for me) when having to switch between apps repeatedly: the current procedure is

edge swipe
covers animate from peek position to home screen position
tap cover of target application
covers animate from home screen position to peek position
target application opened in foreground

The repeated up and down animation of the covers takes time and is especially disturbing as the moving elements are the ones you need to interact with.

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2

Ust to be complete. The swapping gesture should still work with peeking, so you can have a quick glance at another app.

bilgy_no1 ( 2014-01-17 23:23:16 +0300 )edit

4

For me, it's easy enough to swipe it to the home screen and just tap another cover. What you suggested might be nice, but I wouldn't ask it at this point when we have so much more important stuff to deal with first. Let's keep up the good work in voting those :)

simo ( 2014-01-18 01:46:21 +0300 )edit

Thanks for your comment, but let's register all ideas here and use voting for determining the order of priority.

bilgy_no1 ( 2014-01-18 11:26:46 +0300 )edit

@bilgy_no1 No problem, that's a good way to go with too

simo ( 2014-01-18 11:41:33 +0300 )edit

The way I understand it - left edge-swipe: go to last app / right edge-swipe go to next app - this feature question offers valuable input for https://together.jolla.com/question/11171/enhance-the-multitasking-ui-and-the-ordering-of-apps-in-the-home-screen/#13816

corneliusg ( 2014-01-18 14:00:13 +0300 )edit

9

answered 2014-12-29 12:49:31 +0300

tokaru
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Instead of a dedicated gesture, I suggest to implement this as an enhancement of the peek gesture, the following solution is very intuitive IMO and also goes well with usage concepts of other components like context menu and pulley.

We could just use the release event for quick app switching, i.e. the position where the finger is lifted from the display during peeking.
Each app cover would have its own release-sensitive area (e.g. in the middle of the cover) in peek mode; entering that area would be signaled by a short vibration and highlighting of the respective cover (similar to pulley menu item selection).
When released outside that area, just go to the home screen.
When released inside that area, switch to the respective app immediately, bypassing the home screen (and the two animations that increase app switching time considerably)

This is exactly how pulley menus work and what makes them so quick & easy to use.

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1

That's a smart suggestion! It allows you to quickly go to any open app, or the Home screen.

bilgy_no1 ( 2014-12-29 12:55:38 +0300 )edit

I really like this suggestion, very smart and avoids the Home Screen return and a deeper use of the peek gesture!

damourti ( 2015-04-29 10:41:10 +0300 )edit

So one who want to go to the home screen will be forced to aim quite precisely to avoid accidental app opening? With 5+ covers that will be quite tricky.

kandelabra ( 2015-10-01 17:10:19 +0300 )edit

@kandelabra it shouldn't be the whole cover that is sensitive to the release event, so that it's rather aiming for usage, not aiming for avoidance. And there are easy ways to avoid accidental triggers, e.g. by adding a (very short) timeout before the release-sensitive area gets enabled. Side note: there are features in SFOS that are more accident-prone by far, especially cover actions.

tokaru ( 2015-10-02 11:12:02 +0300 )edit

@tokaru Sure but while going to home screen there is no aiming at all right now - nor for usage neither for avoidance. And yes, timeout should fix this, by cost of small slow down though.

kandelabra ( 2015-10-02 14:55:02 +0300 )edit

6

answered 2014-01-18 11:35:14 +0300

bilgy_no1
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In addition to the above idea for gestures when you're in an app, I'd like to suggest something for when you're in the home screen.

The two (left/right) gestures are now used for changing the ambience. Please also make this configurable. I'd prefer a scheme where I can use a gesture for quick access to settings toggles for wifi, 3g,4g,Bluetooth, gps, etc. Ambiance is not that important to me.

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This answer would be better at #636, please add & vote this in there to avoid duplicates.

simo ( 2014-01-18 11:43:10 +0300 )edit

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