Capacitive vs. On Screen Buttons

[Indistinguishable]

Near the end of Nokia's tenure they seemed to have a pattern of using Capacitive Buttons for their higher-end devices and on screen buttons for their lower-end. Something that I was okay with because I love my capacitive buttons and they say "premium" to me.

The supposed leaks of the McLaren prototype show very prominent on screen buttons. The HTC M8 for Windows, while not manufactured by Microsoft, also has on screen buttons.

Are we thinking that capacitive buttons may be a thing of the past for Windows Phones? Will the 1030 have capacitive buttons? I sure hope so...

 

[berty6294]

Eh it could go either way. I feel like it is more of a preference thing instead of a premium thing. For me personally, I don't think I really have a preference of one over the other.

 

[vineet_vpns12]

I hate each Lumia that comes with
On screen capacitive button and without a camera button.
From my point of view, this directly implies a compromise with Lumia standard.
.
This is my angle of thinking, someone else could be different.

 

[Ashish Gupta888]

I like On screen buttons instead. Reason - Those are customizable and retractable on my phone.

 

[Ed Boland]

Idk, I'm more of a hardware nav button kind of guy. But if Microsoft says the software buttons are better, then they know better than I, and I'm sure they have their reasons.

 

[someone2639]

Why not both? *Mexican music*. Maybe like the one plus one, with a separate capacitive XPeria-style display for the other keys.

 

[Camden Krupala]

I think capacitive buttons are more "flagshipy". I understand onscreen may be cheaper, but on a flagship if they choose to go onscreen to save money those savings need to be pumped into other fancier and more advanced features. I'm okay with paying a premium for a device as long as it makes some major efforts to stand out among the crowd.

 

[Timbre70]

You need an extra step to touch and flick up to bring up the 3-menu buttons in some situations. For capacitive, it's always there.

 

[NeerajMakeBelieve]

lets agree to disagree,
they take screen size and also looks ridiculous

 

[NeerajMakeBelieve]

i smell sarcasm ,, i like capacitive buttons

 

[mathsisbest]

Capacitive buttons are a lot better. One of my main reasons I'm not upgrading my 920 and 625. Probably will get 1520, and if there are only on-screen buttons on new models, then I'll keep 1520 for next couple years.

 

[lerimer]

Having gone from a lumia 1520 to a HTC M8 I can tell you that I was a little skeptical about the on screen buttons. But after the first day of user I can tell you that the on screen buttons are better. I have two reasons for that. Number one is that you can program them to auto hide or to hide and reappear by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Much like swiping left on windows 8 to bring up the charms bar. I have it set for the swiping mode. This mode is excellent because it brings me to number two... When you hide the bar, you can't accidentally hit a button. There is no calling Cortana by mistake or going to the home screen by mistake as well. Also as part of the number one reason... One of the things I hated doing at night was using my Lumia 1520 because those damn lights would never go off. Using the kindle app was sometimes frustrating because the light from the buttons annoyed me. Something I don't have to worry about now.

 

[wphashan]

Capacitive, no doubt.

 

[Ed Boland]

Having gone from a lumia 1520 to a HTC M8 I can tell you that I was a little skeptical about the on screen buttons. But after the first day of user I can tell you that the on screen buttons are better. I have two reasons for that. Number one is that you can program them to auto hide or to hide and reappear by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Much like swiping left on windows 8 to bring up the charms bar. I have it set for the swiping mode. This mode is excellent because it brings me to number two... When you hide the bar, you can't accidentally hit a button. There is no calling Cortana by mistake or going to the home screen by mistake as well. Also as part of the number one reason... One of the things I hated doing at night was using my Lumia 1520 because those damn lights would never go off. Using the kindle app was sometimes frustrating because the light from the buttons annoyed me. Something I don't have to worry about now.

I agree. The illuminated capacitive buttons make it difficult to watch movies or reading in the dark. They're quite blinding and distracting... Really the only gripe I have about my 1520.

Like I said above; Microsoft has their reasons. I'm sure one is so they can install Windows on "other" hardware (like the One M8).

 

[NeerajMakeBelieve]

well thats the only one reason thats changing my mind

 

[John Chibuike]

I would prefer the on screen keys. Firstly because, if the phone is idle, the screen looks dark and mysterious. Which is what I like, and also you could hide those keys if you wanna watch movies in the dark. And capacitive keys kinda look old fashion to me

 

[lerimer]

I agree. The illuminated capacitive buttons make it difficult to watch movies or reading in the dark. They're quite blinding and distracting... Really the only gripe I have about my 1520.

Like I said above; Microsoft has their reasons. I'm sure one is so they can install Windows on "other" hardware (like the One M8).

You'd think that by now Microsoft or even Nokia a year ago would of make them turn off after 3-5 seconds. Bit it hasn't happened yet.

 

[lerimer]

And to quote anyone about flagships.... The M8 is HTC's flagship. And is even better in specs than the year old 1520. Nothing bad to say about any of them. Well maybe one thing. I miss the camera button on the M8.

 

[Blake Seaman]

I am somewhat torn on the battle here after working with a One M8 a bit, but one thing I would like to say is that some of the Capacitive buttons that have been used on Lumia's are less premium than others. My 920 has reflective ones that are mirror-like even when unlit, then they glow evenly and with immaculate color when activated. The 1520, on the other hand, lacks this entirely with barely visible unlit buttons that are cloudy when activated.

Microsoft if you use capacitive, make is count! I'll be honest a reflective set of capacitive buttons with a fingerprint scanner on the center would be pretty awesome in a 1030.

 

[Beijendorf]

I hope I'm not late to the party, but seeing as the release date for the future flagships are just a few months out...

Absolutely on-screen buttons.

1) They're customizable.
2) They can be hidden.
3) They can mean either less bottom-bezel or larger screens.
4) With todays highly accurate and reactive capacitive screens, on screen buttons aren't less responsive.
5) No more distracting lights or erroneous clicks.

I can understand people wanting to keep the dedicated capacitive buttons, but to me it comparatively feels like wanting to keep the mechanical "CHA-CHUNK!" buttons from the old television sets. It's old technology from a time when there were no viable alternatives. Now there is.