Poll results: Do you prefer physical or software navigational buttons?
On Monday, we thought we'd finally settle for good a question that has been bugging us for a while: Do people really like software navigation keys, or is it an unanimous decision in favor of physical and/or capacitive solutions that don't eat up screen real estate (at least that's how we saw it)?
To our surprise, the outcome of the vote was anything but unanimous. Indeed, out of the 5112 people that chose to cast their vote, 2191, or 42.86%, voted in favor of software keys. According to the comment section, the justification for that choice lies in the fact that many (somewhat rightfully) feel that on-screen buttons mean smaller bezels and, thus, smaller devices. Some also claim that accidental pocket presses are less likely (we tend to agree, our Note 4 constantly turns on in our pocket for some reason), while others still cite software keys' dynamic orientation. In other words, you can flip your device each and every way you want to and the keys will follow.
And in favor of physical and/or capacitive keys? 2921 votes, or 57.14%. As we pointed out already, preserving screen real estate is among the most cited reasons among people that prefer them, though some folks also argue that they provide better feedback and can also be used to wake up a device (Samsung handsets being an obvious example). That last one perk comes in handy if your device's power key is located on the top and is, therefore, out of reach unless you have giant hands.
Does as even a split as the one we witness here surprise you, too?
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