<vaguely off topic rant about Android 7.1 - but relevant as they control the hardware and specs here>
Why is Google still insisting (with 7.1) that the 3 navigation keys (menu, home and back) need to be on screen - either wasting real-estate or annoyingly hidden - requiring a swipe to expose them?
Old Android phones used to have hardware or software keys that were off the bottom of the screen - and in fact my Xiaomi Mi Note Pro still does - it frees the entire screen for content. If the '3 keys' regularly changed meaning I could see the need to have them 'on screen' but they don't.
To turn this around: why did the old phones insist that the hardware buttons take up valuable face space that could be used for more screen, where the buttons could be dynamically drawn and repositioned based on the content and orientation of the phone.
Not in all cases. Which is why apps have an API where they can turn it off if they want to reclaim that space for their own use.
Interestingly, no on ever figured out how to implement this trick when apps wanted to use their hardware buttons for extra screen space. I suspect this is a big reason for this particular compromise.
Maybe, but look at the bezel at the bottom of the Pixel, plenty of room for software buttons, we just don't have full edge to edge screens yet in all directions. So with plenty of room we are choosing to waste screen.
I prefer screen ones to hard buttons. First of all, it can make using a wallet style case awkward. Second, hard buttons click, wear out, and have other downsides. And third, they can be hidden - this gives you more real estate when you want it.
Sorry it I wasn't clear - my current android phone has software buttons below the screen, so fine in a wallet case, no hardware button to break and when not in use the backlight dims and it's 'hidden' from me - see here: http://images.fonearena.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/...
I'm using the Kindle Fire a lot right now, and the on screen buttons suck - a pain to trigger, and when in a view where you have to have them all the time they eat up space, esp in landscape view. Android still feels like tablets and landscape use are an afterthought. I LOVE android, but this just really riles me, and has steered me away from android tablets for a while now.
I also still don't understand why they never did anything more useful with it.
For example, there's an XPosed module which let's you swipe to the right over the navigation keys to change them out for music controls. If you swipe to the left, you can access some apps that you've pinned there as well as quick-toggles for system settings (such as WiFi on/off).
Why is Google still insisting (with 7.1) that the 3 navigation keys (menu, home and back) need to be on screen - either wasting real-estate or annoyingly hidden - requiring a swipe to expose them?
Old Android phones used to have hardware or software keys that were off the bottom of the screen - and in fact my Xiaomi Mi Note Pro still does - it frees the entire screen for content. If the '3 keys' regularly changed meaning I could see the need to have them 'on screen' but they don't.