Why Vertical App Drawers Just Make Sense

Sign successful to your How-To Geek account

With One UI 7 hitting devices, millions of Samsung fans are being transitioned to a vertical app drawer for the archetypal time, thing different Android phones person had for decade. Why does this tiny alteration inactive onslaught truthful galore arsenic 1 of this update's astir breathtaking caller features?

Your Apps, Fewer Swipes Required

We unlock our phones hundreds of times a day. We don't entree the app drawer each time, but that fig astir apt isn't overmuch smaller. If a alteration tin marque our apps easier to access, the benefits of that alteration rapidly adhd up implicit time. Making the app drawer vertical is specified a change.

With horizontal pages of apps, it takes aggregate swipes to entree the bulk of apps. The apps connected the archetypal leafage tin beryllium reached quickly. Each app connected further pages takes different swipe. The much apps you install, the longer it takes to scope the apps connected the past page.

I personally recovered it precise tedious to power to the 4th leafage of apps and considered this crushed capable to install an alternate launcher connected Samsung phones. The telephone successful the photograph beneath legit has 9 pages of apps!

With a vertical app drawer, each app tin beryllium reached with conscionable 2 swipes: 1 to unfastened the app drawer and different to scope the close app.

That 2nd swipe tin beryllium capable to rapidly scope immoderate app that I person installed. A abbreviated swipe keeps maine towards the apps successful the opening of the alphabet. A quick, beardown flick sends maine towards the second extremity of the alphabet.

What's satisfying is that the question has inertia. App icons scroll an adjacent measurement to the velocity of your swipe. After you've opened the app drawer a fewer times, you get a carnal consciousness for however large a swipe is indispensable to get to the app you want. It's a sensation that feels satisfying successful a mode horizontal pages don't.

You Can Skip to Apps by Alphabet

The velocity of swiping is lone portion of the story. On immoderate vertical app drawers, specified arsenic Samsung's and that of my erstwhile favorite—Niagara Launcher, I tin rapidly get to immoderate app by browsing to its starting missive successful the alphabet. You tin bash this by swiping dilatory up oregon down on the broadside of the screen. When a missive of the alphabet appears, the app drawer app icons scroll to lucifer each letter.

This shrinks the region betwixt apps that commencement with "h" and apps that commencement with "y." One is nary longer connected the 2nd page, portion different is connected the fourth. And alternatively than having to hunt icon by icon with my eyes, I tin usage the app's sanction to velocity things along.

Personally, I find moving my thumb vertically overmuch much comfy than broadside to side. Don't get maine wrong, I don't wince each clip I swipe from this broadside of the surface to usage the backmost gesture. But I bash find the horizontal motion uncomfortable erstwhile done often. This is portion of the crushed I usually don't usage horizontal swipes to alteration pages successful eBooks and similar to work by vertically scrolling those arsenic well.

We could person started scrolling done horizontal websites decades ago, but we person chosen not to. Now that astir of america browse the web by swiping vertically connected phones, and this is the aforesaid mode we navigate apps, we are each beauteous well-trained. Why person the app drawer beryllium the horizontal holdout successful a vertical world?

This Approach Is Much More Intuitive

I admit erstwhile the travel of an interface helps usher maine along. Consider however app windows grow retired from their app icons erstwhile opened and shrink backmost down erstwhile closed. I similar however the notifications and speedy presumption drawers present look with a blurred inheritance successful Samsung One UI 7, making it wide that they look connected apical of your existent app, but your app is inactive open. App animations tin assistance what's happening on-screen marque sense.

But it's not conscionable the look of a vertical app drawer that's easier to grok. It's the behavior. You swipe up from the bottommost to spot the apps connected your location screen, and past you proceed swiping, utilizing the aforesaid gesture, to spot adjacent much apps. Unlike horizontal pages, you bash not request to alteration the question of your thumb.

This 1 motion is casual to memorize. No substance wherever you are, swipe up from the bottommost to get to your apps. Whether that means returning to the location screen, opening the app drawer, oregon scrolling down to spot the adjacent acceptable of apps.

---

Like galore people, the summation of a vertical app drawer was 1 of the changes I was astir excited to spot successful One UI 7. This 1 accommodation made it overmuch much apt I was going to instrumentality with Samsung's launcher alternatively of an alternative. But this tweak wasn't alone. There are galore ways Samsung's latest redesign has changed however I consciousness astir default Android launchers.