Opinion: Assistive Touch on iOS 5.0

Assistive Touch

A few days back I wrote a post on enabling Assistive Touch on an iOS device running iOS 5.0. I can't stop thinking that this functionality could be the future of Apple devices especially on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and here's why.

Before the release of iPhone 4S, rumors spread that a redesign of the iPhone is in the works. And part of that redesign effort is the removal of the Home button. Now you probably know where I'm getting at already. Assistive Touch enabled on iOS 5.0 is very capable already. Take for example the Assistive Touch for Home which is very similar to the functionalities of the Home button. A single touch on Home goes back to the default page. A double touch opens the multi-task bar displaying the applications running in the background. Another thing I noticed is that Assistive Touch is also enabled when your device is locked so a double touch on Home displays the control for the camera and the music player. But that's not all, you can also lock the screen, adjust the volume, mute or un-mute with just a few touches. With this, the physical buttons for controlling these activities can be eliminated. I think now I can say that the Home button can be removed already together with the volume and mute controls. The volume and mute controls were placed in the first place for accessibility. What I think should stay though is the Sleep/Wake button which also serves as the On/Off button. This should stay because it's the main button for activating your device or if you want to perform a reset. What will the removal of the buttons I mentioned do to an iOS device? Well, a lot! Take for example the iPhone or the iPod Touch. The removal of the Home button will introduce the possibility of a larger screen display. But of course a larger display means shorter battery life. The removal of the volume and mute buttons could introduce future revolutionary designs again for these devices. I'm pretty sure the folks at Cupertino are looking at these possibilities. What I've presented here are applicable to Apple's iOS devices -- the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

A post-Steve Jobs Apple is indeed very exciting. The introduction of just a simple Assistive Touch on iOS 5.0 is already creating some possibilities. Having been an Apple user a few years already makes me curious on this little feature which could be a hint of the future of Apple's devices.

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Check out my post on Enabling Assistive Touch in iOS 5.0 here.