Android Developers say bye to Menu button

And say hello to the Action BarMobile phones News By John McCann 12 hours ago | Tell us what you think [ 4 comments ]

Tweet Less buttons - more touchy touchy

Android Developers are being reminded by Google to shift their attention away from the Menu button and focus instead on the Action Bar.

The Menu button function is commonplace in pre-3.0 versions of Google's Android operating system. It allows users to view options for a particular application by pressing the Menu button on their device.

With the introduction of Honeycomb (version 3.0) and now Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0) the function has become redundant as these operating systems remove the need for physical buttons.

All change please

This year we expect to see a new wave of devices running Ice Cream Sandwich, so developers need to make sure they update their apps to use the Action Bar.

Developers need to follow the new Android user experience as many Android devices are expected in 2012 to feature button free designs.

Apps will continue to work on the new software, with Google building an action overflow button which acts as the menu button.

The action overflow button will display on all applications which have not been updated to Android 3.0+, even if they do not require it.

Are you all for button free devices, or will you be pining for your menu, home and back buttons?

From Android Developers

Tags: Google, Android, Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 3.0, HoneycombTweetreddit!StumbleuponComment on this article  Your comments (4) Click to add a new commentpotts

6 hours ago

4. Moving from the long lasting buttons on Nokia's, insisted my first touch-screen phone (HTC Desire) should have physical buttons, but they wore out and became a struggle while I waited for a decent spec phone with touch-sensitive buttons. I've used a Pre 3 and various tablets, which make use to gesture areas around the screen, including one that doesn't and suffers in comparison from a lack of buttons.

If the interface is well designed and accounts for legacy apps, it really doesn't matter unless you're resistant to change.

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simon_m

11 hours ago

3. I rather like having real buttons - but they do wear out over time, becoming vague and often chipped/scratched, so I guess this is a good idea. This also maximises available screen real estate for fullscreen applications, but how do you exit them without buttons if it's truly full-screen?

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chaoticqa

11 hours ago

2. I love having a (physical) Back, Menu and Home button but as mentioned by Bradavon, if the experience is better then shemone people.

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bradavon

12 hours ago

1. I don't care either way. They're just buttons and if it makes the experience better, I'm all for it.

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