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Hardware I think we, as a society, made a fundamental mistake when we let touch screens take over as the dominant input method.

Derachi

Derachi

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Look, touch screens are good. I’m typing this on a touch screen right now. They are without a doubt intuitive, easy to understand, infinitely modular and, if designed well, offer a near-magic way for anyone to interface with computers and technology.

But fam I gotta ask: you ever twist a good-ass knob/dial??? You ever press a satisfying button??? It’s an irreplaceable feeling. Having a tactile physical input that results in a digital input will always feel more impactful to a tech user than tapping a touch screen.

I know it may be first instinct for many folks to blame Apple; the iPhone popularized the “big glass square” style of device, and I don’t think that’s wrong in any way. But I will also posit they’ve done more good than harm by keeping the porch light on for pseudophysical inputs: ever since the completely solid home “button” on the iPhone 7, their Taptic motor has worked wonders in making a touch input feel eerily indistinguishable from a moving button. Don’t get it twisted: it’s not a simple rumble motor, it’s incredibly precise. Next time you’re near an Apple Store, give their laptop trackpads a click or two; those aren’t moving, they just trick your brain into thinking they’re moving. The Digital Crown on the Apple Watch is an S+ tier knob, especially if there’s a light buzz as you scroll giving you a light “ratchet” to the scrolling action. I genuinely wish they’d put that crown on iPhones where the lock button is. I’d much rather scroll with a wheel than slide the screen around, but I understand I’m probably in the minority.

The sad thing about Apple and inputs is that they made maybe the best portable device non-intensive menu-selection input scheme of all time with the Click Wheel, but sadly haven’t used it meaningfully in a decade.

I do miss tactile inputs. Thankfully game controllers are still physical buttons, so I get my fill there. I just wish non-screen inputs would make a more meaningful comeback.

Thanks for reading my rambles about inputs.

P.S.: Mechanical keyboards feel nice but are too loud. That’s all I’ve got to say about those.
 
This post speaks the truth and is one of the reasons I'll end up just building my own smartphone at some point.

We're in the age of writing longform text on your phone, please give us actual keyboards. And knobs. And clicky switches. And cool clamshell electronics!
 
Derachi said:
Next time you’re near an Apple Store, give their laptop trackpads a click or two; those aren’t moving, they just trick your brain into thinking they’re moving.
Click to expand...
I just had to double check on my M2 Air I've been using for well over a year at this point to confirm that it indeed doesn't give. I never noticed this before. I was convinced it was "real". I knew about the haptic "button", since my SE has it too, but this was news to me.
 
I can tolerate phone keyboards but I've never vibed with touch controls ever. I need that proper tactile experience.
 
Tangerine_Cookie said:
This post speaks the truth and is one of the reasons I'll end up just building my own smartphone at some point.

We're in the age of writing longform text on your phone, please give us actual keyboards. And knobs. And clicky switches. And cool clamshell electronics!
Click to expand...
I’m genuinely shocked someone hasn’t made an iPhone case that basically gives it a landscape slide-out keyboard. I know there’s that case that gives it a huge portrait chin keyboard a la BlackBerry but tbh it looks goofy. There’s a time and place for goofiness and input devices is not it.
 
WAIT do you all think if I Bluetooth connect an Xbox controller with a ChatPad attached I could write on my phone using the ChatPad???
 
There is no better input feeling than a knob with crisp detents. So good. I'm mad that car stereos went away from that and started doing smooth dials, and then goddamn touchscreen everything.

Having your car's fan/heater/ac controls live on a literal folder tab on a touchscreen that you have to swipe over to from the radio tab and then blindly mash at the screen to get it to do things while you're trying to keep your eyes on the road but you can't because it's a fucking touchscreen is a stupid and bad idea and I can't believe it's even legal. Gimme back my knobs and buttons.

Or better yet...

Na8a8Lf.jpeg


9GpFIcf.jpeg


Go back to god damned toggle switches.
 
MissingNo. said:
I just had to double check on my M2 Air I've been using for well over a year at this point to confirm that it indeed doesn't give. I never noticed this before. I was convinced it was "real". I knew about the haptic "button", since my SE has it too, but this was news to me.
Click to expand...
I don’t want to sound like an Apple ad but

Fam their Taptic motor is kinda magic
 
Tangerine_Cookie said:
This post speaks the truth and is one of the reasons I'll end up just building my own smartphone at some point.

We're in the age of writing longform text on your phone, please give us actual keyboards. And knobs. And clicky switches. And cool clamshell electronics!
Click to expand...
This was seriously my favorite phone ever:

Droid2_PR.jpg


I only stopped using it because they eventually stopped updating Android for it and then apps and websites just stopped working on it entirely. But that thing was hands-down the best mobile texting/typing experience I've ever had. No amount of haptics in a touchscreen has ever been able to replicate the comfort of feeling the slight rise in each button so you know what you're touching, and then the gentle click when pressed. So good. I wish they still made stuff like that.

Also it was small enough to use the touchscreen with one hand, which is another thing I wish they still did, hell.
 
chocolate_supra said:
This was seriously my favorite phone ever:

Droid2_PR.jpg


I only stopped using it because they eventually stopped updating Android for it and then apps and websites just stopped working on it entirely. But that thing was hands-down the best mobile texting/typing experience I've ever had. No amount of haptics in a touchscreen has ever been able to replicate the comfort of feeling the slight rise in each button so you know what you're touching, and then the gentle click when pressed. So good. I wish they still made stuff like that.

Also it was small enough to use the touchscreen with one hand, which is another thing I wish they still did, hell.
Click to expand...
This is what I’m talking about! I’d pay good money for an iPhone case that basically just replicates this.
 
Buttons and keys (and mice) rule and you will take them from my cold dead hands.

I've typed posts on here on a smartphone and it... kinda works, but it's annoying, it's cumbersome, and it takes far longer to do so than with a proper keyboard, even with my shitty "bird picking" way of typing.
 
I think there are certain situations where touch-only inputs make perfect sense. The obvious example is smartphones, where in general people want large screens and small footprints. Tablets are an interesting middle ground where it's fairly common today for a keyboard (and maybe even touchpad) to be sold as an optional accessory, even by the tablet maker themselves, but the "default" still makes sense as touch only. On the other hand, touchscreens on laptops (that are not convertible or 2-in-1 or anything like that) seem to not be particularly widely used, since it's actually much more convenient to use the keyboard and trackpad for like, 99% of the things. And when brands try to get cute and add things like touch bars, they tend to be pretty universally reviled.

So even in the narrow purview of devices that could be considered broad-use personal computers, yeah, it's a total mixed bag. But outside that? Stop putting a touchscreen on everything! Why does every car manufacturer insist on putting larger and larger touchscreens, and removing more and more (if not all) physical buttons and knobs? Stop that!
 
0
Síriocaz said:
Aren't there separate keyboard accessories for those who want them?
Click to expand...

There are! But I already carry enough shit on me at all times to also throw in an oversized keyboard on my backpack. Something more integrated into the phone itself would be amazing.
 
chocolate_supra said:
This was seriously my favorite phone ever:

Droid2_PR.jpg


I only stopped using it because they eventually stopped updating Android for it and then apps and websites just stopped working on it entirely. But that thing was hands-down the best mobile texting/typing experience I've ever had. No amount of haptics in a touchscreen has ever been able to replicate the comfort of feeling the slight rise in each button so you know what you're touching, and then the gentle click when pressed. So good. I wish they still made stuff like that.

Also it was small enough to use the touchscreen with one hand, which is another thing I wish they still did, hell.
Click to expand...
I know I'll get a lot of ridicule for this, but I seriously also miss when phones used to be a bit meatier. Nowadays they are way slimmer, but make up for that with a ridiculously larger diagonal, which doesn't sit quite right in my hands.
 
MissingNo. said:
I know I'll get a lot of ridicule for this, but I seriously also miss when phones used to be a bit meatier. Nowadays they are way slimmer, but make up for that with a ridiculously larger diagonal, which doesn't sit quite right in my hands.
Click to expand...
Yeah the larger diagonal makes most modern phones really tough for me to use. And I don't have small hands! But the arc that my thumb can swing/reach is just exceeded by the vast majority of modern phone screens. That old Droid 2 though? No issue. The Droid Mini (my next phone after the 2), absolutely perfect. Currently on a Pixel 2 and am clinging to it for dear life because even though it's a bit too tall to be totally comfortable it was still smaller than anything else on the market at the time, and is definitely smaller than the stuff that's come after it.

It's all moving in the wrong direction!! Why does the market not cater to meeeee 😩
 
MissingNo. said:
I know I'll get a lot of ridicule for this, but I seriously also miss when phones used to be a bit meatier. Nowadays they are way slimmer, but make up for that with a ridiculously larger diagonal, which doesn't sit quite right in my hands.
Click to expand...
I put my smart phone in a big, chonky otter box partially for that reason and partially because I know I'd drop and break it otherwise.
 
0
chocolate_supra said:
Yeah the larger diagonal makes most modern phones really tough for me to use. And I don't have small hands! But the arc that my thumb can swing/reach is just exceeded by the vast majority of modern phone screens. That old Droid 2 though? No issue. The Droid Mini (my next phone after the 2), absolutely perfect. Currently on a Pixel 2 and am clinging to it for dear life because even though it's a bit too tall to be totally comfortable it was still smaller than anything else on the market at the time, and is definitely smaller than the stuff that's come after it.

It's all moving in the wrong direction!! Why does the market not cater to meeeee 😩
Click to expand...
Yeah, I feel you. I have an SE2 which is basically an iPhone 8, and it is borderline uncomfortable to navigate even with rather large hands. I already dread the next SE likely adopting the full size screen of later models, making it even more unwieldy.
 
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