How to Use iPhone X Without A Home Button
Here's what we know about navigating the iPhone X without a home button. It isn't so bad after all.
So, the new $1,000 iPhone X doesn't have a home button, a defining navigational feature on every annual upgrade for the past decade. We use it for multitasking, activating Siri, How ever are we supposed to use an iPhone X without one?
Maybe it won't be so bad. On stage. Apple's Craig Federighi showed how iOS 11 will operate when you don't have a home button, and honestly, it looks pretty easy to get used to.
For instance, to unlock your phone, you'll simply swipe up from the bottom. You'll do the same thing to get to the home screen from apps.
Where, then does that put Control Center? While you used to swipe up from the bottom to get there, you can swipe from the top right-hand corner of the screen to bring all of your shortcuts to the forefront.
As for multitasking, you can now swipe half way up from the bottom and pause to reveal all of your open apps. You can even scroll alongside the bottom of the screen to switch between apps without calling up the app switcher at all. Previously, you could also use 3D Touch to activate the app switcher, but there's no word if that's switching around.
Siri has been moved over to the power button, which has been enlarged to make it easier to press. As for Touch ID, it's not in the iPhone X at all -- you'll have to use Face ID for unlocking and Apple Pay.
Since you'll be using the power button for Siri, you can now just tap on the screen to wake up your phone.
It's a lot to take in at once, but honestly, not nearly as hard as I thought.
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Andrew E. Freedman is an editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming as well as keeping up with the latest news. He holds a M.S. in Journalism (Digital Media) from Columbia University. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Kotaku, PCMag, Complex, Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag among others.