When Buttons, Knobs, and Dials Are Superior to Touch Screens
My Apple Watch has turned into the iPod Nano that I’ve always wanted. It’s the primary device which I use for all my audio needs. And one of the things that I love about listening to music on my Apple Watch is using the crown to adjust the volume.
Modern touchscreens can replace buttons pretty well but they have a harder time with dials. The big obstacle with touchscreens is that you have to give them your full attention. In theory, you could create facsimiles of dials or slider buttons but you still have to look at them to use them.
But real physical dials and knobs can be operated by feel alone. You can drive down the road and reach over to your radio volume knob and adjust without ever taking your attention away from the road. I do the equivalent of that with my Apple Watch every day while walking down the sidewalk. I’ll adjust the volume to compensate for someone’s weed whacker or turn down an especially loud song. I reach over to my Apple Watch and adjust without even looking at my screen.
And the infinite adjustability of the Apple Watch crown makes it an absolutely rewarding experience. I can dial in the volume to perfection quickly without much fuss. That’s a far cry from punching the up and down buttons on my iPhone. Adjusting volume on the iPhone can be somewhat complicated by comparison. I don’t mean to complain too much about the iPhone’s buttons, because I’m glad there are physical buttons. But for some things, dials are superior.
I shouldn’t have to explain the drill on adjusting your iPhone volume in too much detail because everyone’s familiar with it. First, you have to adjust your grip so that you don’t turn off your screen. That’s because you need a firm grip to exert enough pressure to fully depress the button. For right-handed people that means you want to put your thumb on the opposite side of your phone and squeeze. Which often leads to the screen turning off.
Then there’s the issue of moving the volume in little steps per each button depression. And if you go too far you have to press the other button to go the other way. Depending on how finicky you are, you could be doing lots of button pushing.
In comparison to adjusting volume with buttons, the Apple Watch crown seems brilliant. There’s no need to get a firm grip. There’s no need to wonder if you have the right button. There’s no need to stop what you’re doing and look at your watch. You have limitless adjustability so you can get the volume exactly where you want it. And it’s so fast. You can usually attain perfection in under 2 seconds.
So why am I extolling the virtues on a device feature that was launched over 5 years ago? It’s because I’m still smarting from the loss of 3D Touch on my iPhone 11 Pro. Haptic Touch is nowhere near as good as the old 3D Touch. I f Apple ever kills the Apple Watch Dial and I never wrote one word in it’s defense I’d be kicking myself.
Touchscreens are great within certain parameters. But when you get into scenarios where you don’t want to give a touchscreen your full attention, buttons knobs, and dials are superior.
But real physical dials and knobs can be operated by feel alone. You can drive down the road and reach over to your radio volume knob and adjust without ever taking your attention away from the road. I do the equivalent of that with my Apple Watch every day while walking down the sidewalk. I’ll adjust the volume to compensate for someone’s weed whacker or turn down an especially loud song. I reach over to my Apple Watch and adjust without even looking at my screen.
And the infinite adjustability of the Apple Watch crown makes it an absolutely rewarding experience. I can dial in the volume to perfection quickly without much fuss. That’s a far cry from punching the up and down buttons on my iPhone. Adjusting volume on the iPhone can be somewhat complicated by comparison. I don’t mean to complain too much about the iPhone’s buttons, because I’m glad there are physical buttons. But for some things, dials are superior.
I shouldn’t have to explain the drill on adjusting your iPhone volume in too much detail because everyone’s familiar with it. First, you have to adjust your grip so that you don’t turn off your screen. That’s because you need a firm grip to exert enough pressure to fully depress the button. For right-handed people that means you want to put your thumb on the opposite side of your phone and squeeze. Which often leads to the screen turning off.
Then there’s the issue of moving the volume in little steps per each button depression. And if you go too far you have to press the other button to go the other way. Depending on how finicky you are, you could be doing lots of button pushing.
In comparison to adjusting volume with buttons, the Apple Watch crown seems brilliant. There’s no need to get a firm grip. There’s no need to wonder if you have the right button. There’s no need to stop what you’re doing and look at your watch. You have limitless adjustability so you can get the volume exactly where you want it. And it’s so fast. You can usually attain perfection in under 2 seconds.
So why am I extolling the virtues on a device feature that was launched over 5 years ago? It’s because I’m still smarting from the loss of 3D Touch on my iPhone 11 Pro. Haptic Touch is nowhere near as good as the old 3D Touch. I f Apple ever kills the Apple Watch Dial and I never wrote one word in it’s defense I’d be kicking myself.
Touchscreens are great within certain parameters. But when you get into scenarios where you don’t want to give a touchscreen your full attention, buttons knobs, and dials are superior.
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