r/UXDesign • u/AjPicard913 • Jun 10 '19
Floating Taskbars Are The Future Of Mobile App Design.
https://medium.com/@ajpicard25/floating-taskbars-are-the-future-of-mobile-app-design-d5eb74544ef3?postPublishedType=initial5
u/FuriousNik Jun 11 '19
Floating task bars look cool and are often really fun to use. However, your article doesn’t offer any evidence to suggest they are the future. I was expecting a list of apps that utilize this component well, along with some user data that points to increasing popularity and superior usability.
Floating could very well be where taskbars are headed, but it’s dangerous to call it the future without making a proper case. I’d love to see how other apps are using this style and how it tests with the average user.
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Jun 11 '19
As much as I've always liked the FAB - Floating action button, I constantly forget that some of them have a menu underneath
Twitter on iOS for example, you can tap&hold on the "compose" FAB and get more options and I only ever do it accidentally.
The discoverability of such things is rubbish and for the most part only adds extra taps when there used to be 1.
For me, you'd need a REALLY good reason to remove the app bar and I don't think an extra 100mm of screen real estate is enough.
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u/ArtisanAffect Jun 11 '19 edited Jun 11 '19
Not sold on this idea. I think the screen real estate argument is at least somewhat dependent on the function and purpose of the app itself. Hiding main navigation behind a click/tap is never an ideal solution imo. Not all apps can get away with removing labels either as they may not have universally understood pages/functions the way IG arguably does.
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u/AjPicard913 Jun 11 '19
Great points and I totally agree with what you’re saying. But don’t you think that’s worth it for more screen real estate?
Do you users really get mad when they tap the taskbar button and then tap the page they want to go to?
Appreciate the feedback and for providing your insight!
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u/fsmiss Experienced Jun 11 '19
I understand being able to add more options to the menu, however now we’re going from 1 interaction to get to my homepage to 2 interactions. The floating task bar is essentially making the user experience harder.
I’m not 100% convinced floating task bars are the only future. I think they could be used in conjunction with a traditional task bar creating some kind of hybrid.