Navigation with buttons or gestures on your phone? This is how you set it up
There are two ways to operate an Android phone: three-button navigation and gesture navigation. Whichever way you prefer to use: we explain how you can adjust the method for operation.
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Control your phone
Today you have the choice to operate Android phones between gestures that are very similar to iOS on the one hand and three virtual buttons at the bottom of the screen on the other. You can often choose between gestures and buttons when setting up your phone, but we explain how to change that setting afterwards.
The only problem with giving a step-by-step guide is that the layout of settings may look different for each brand of phone. We explain the steps that work on most phones and afterwards we give a tip if you don’t recognize these steps on your smartphone.
Standard in Android
- Go to Institutions
- Choose System
- Press System navigation
- Choose gestures or button navigation.
Samsung phones
- Go to Institutions
- Choose display
- Press Navigation bar
- Choose gestures or button navigation.
Xiaomi phones
- Go to Institutions
- Choose Home screen
- Press System navigation
- Choose gestures or button navigation.
The setting on Xiaomi phones
Other phones
Don’t recognize any of these steps on your phone? In that case it is useful to use the search function of the settings and the word ‘navigation‘ typing. Then you will usually discover an option similar to ‘System Navigation’.
The operation of Android phones has changed a lot over the years. The first phones still had a physical Home, Menu, Back, and Recent apps button. That operation was then simplified to three virtual buttons on the screen and with Android 9 Pie there was temporarily the pill-shaped button for navigation. A year later, it was already exchanged for full gesture navigation that works on all phones from Android 10. Although the three virtual buttons are still available.
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What is your favorite way to control your Android phone. Have you gotten used to gestures or are you still using the three buttons? Did you have an iPhone before, so was it easy to learn Android gestures? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.
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