Simple screen touch is used by all mobile users to interact with the devices. Gestures are a more advanced interaction mean, enhancing the manipulation of onscreen objects and allowing adjusting and navigating content by granularity. Standard gestures are those that you can turn off and on but you cannot change them from their default action, and they are linked to different control commands depending on the operating system of your mobile phone. In addition, some operating systems allow for custom definition of gestures, either at operating system level or for in-application ussage. Some examples of standard gestures and linked actions:
- Tap (or Touch):
- iOS - activates a control or selects an item;
- Fire OS – start an application, select a menu
- Windows 10 mobile – opens or launches whatever you tap
- Drag:
- iOS - moves an element from side-to-side or drags an element across the screen;
- FireOS - dragging a finger over each item on the screen allows to explore menus and items;
- Flick:
- iOS - scrolls or pans quickly
- Swipe (or Slide):
- iOS - when performed with one finger, returns to the previous screen, reveals the hidden view in a split view controller, reveals the Delete button in a table-view row, or reveals actions in a peek;
- FireOS - swipe right/left goes to next/previous item; swipe from left edge of the screen with two fingers opens the navigation panel in a content library or store; and swipe from the bottom (or right edge if in landscape mode) of the screen shows recently opened apps or content;
- Android – swipe up to open app drawer; two-finger swipe down for quick setting access
- Windows 10 Mobile – scrolls rapidly through menus or pages, or moves sideways in apps;
- Double tap:
- iOS - zooms in and centers content or an image, or zooms out if already zoomed in;
- Fire OS – acts like double-clicking a mouse on a desktop;
- Android – activates the display or starts an application; on a map zooms in or out;
- Windows 10 Mobile – zooms in or out in stages;
- Pinch and stretch:
- iOS - zooms in when pinching outward, zooms out when pinching inward;
- Fire OS – zooms in and out of images and pages
- Windows 10 Mobile – zooms in or out on a map, webpage, or picture
- Touch (or Press/Tap) and hold:
- iOS - when performed in editable or selectable text, displays a magnified view for cursor positioning, while when performed in certain views, such as a collection view, enters a mode that allows items to be rearranged;
- Fire OS – tapping and holding on an object will bring up options for that object;
- Windows 10 Mobile – Opens a menu (like right-clicking with a mouse);
- Shake:
- iOS - initiates undo or redo
- Pan:
- Windows 10 Mobile – Moves around screens at a controlled rate
- Rotation (or Circle):
- Android – rotates the targeted content
|
Gesture |
iOS |
Android |
FireOS |
Windows 10 Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tap |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Double tap |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Drag |
yes |
|
yes |
|
|
Flick |
yes |
|
|
|
|
Swipe – one finger |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Swipe – two fingers or more |
|
yes |
|
|
|
Pinch and stretch |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Touch and hold |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Shake |
yes |
|
|
|
|
Rotate |
|
yes |
|
|
|
Pan |
|
|
|
yes |
|
Customizable controls |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|