Google confirms the Pixel 3 and 3 XL only have gesture-based navigation

Ro, 10 October 2018

We've been going in that direction for a while now and it appears we are picking up speed - the gesture-based navigation will no longer be an option going forward. While last year's Pixel 2 and 2 XL had the option of choosing between the good old software buttons and the new Android 9.0 Pie gestures, the new Pixel 3 and 3 XL cannot disable the gestures.

It was further confirmed in a tweet by @madebygoogle and it looks like Google's team isn't talking only about the new duo of Pixels. We could very well see all phones adopt the new way of navigating through menus.

Hi! Pixel 3 introduces a new pattern that will represent navigation on all Android phones going forward. While change & adapting to new patterns is hard, we believe it's a better navigation pattern & makes app switching a faster experience.
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 9, 2018

But the tweet raises some valid questions. For example, will the new gestures be enforced to the rest of the OEMs or the custom Android ROMs will have the option of keeping the software buttons? Only time will tell, we guess.

Source

Google Android

Reader comments

Pixel 2 XL USER.
23 Oct 2018
Gxx

Wise words from Steve Jobs himself back in the day "a good artist creates a great artist steals". the creator of the innovator Apple has been stealing ideas from other phones for years, all these phone companies just get ideas from each other and get...

Anonymous
15 Oct 2018
MwH

What you mentioned are not innovations, those are options. But fully working gestures providing a consistent experience across the OS and all apps is innovation. Goodbye nav buttons!

PBody
15 Oct 2018
xfi

Did you say Google was right when iOS started making 2 size phones? Or when they added drop down menu? Or when they added card indexed notifications? I doubt it. LOL, fact is these companies borrow ideas from each other. Stop acting like Apple create...