Without a proper home button, navigating the iPhone X becomes an entirely new experience, one that’s dominated by gestures and swipes. While there is a “home bar,” the visual indicator is only there to remind you that you need to perform a swipe in order to get to the home screen.
If that’s not your style, you can bring back the home button by enabling Apple’s AssistiveTouch.
The feature is intended to help users with motor skill impairments navigate the device, but it turns out to be a pretty powerful replacement if you’re pining for a proper home button.
Here’s how Apple describes the feature:
AssistiveTouch allow you to use your iPhone if you have difficult touching the screen or if you require an adaptive accessory.
AssistiveTouch puts a circular button on the display at all times, and it supports a ton of different functions. For example, a single tap can bring you back to the home screen. The virtual button also supports a double-tap, long press, and 3D Touch.
Notably, you can set the button to invoke Control Center, which has been moved from a swipe up to a swipe down from the top right corner of the display.
AssistiveTouch also supports custom gestures, allowing users to create a more personal experience when performing actions.
If you’re thinking to yourself, Having a virtual button on the display at all times is distracting, I agree. But Apple allows you to drag and drop the button to anywhere on the display, and you can also change the opacity of the button so isn’t as noticeable.
Having used the iPhone X for the past week, I’ve mostly become accustomed to life without a home button. But AssistiveTouch is a nice way to make navigating iOS a little easier if you’re not completely onboard with Apple’s gesture-heavy future.
