The five movements that operate every phone and tablet ever made, and know which one to reach for.
A touchscreen understands five things. There is no sixth, no hidden vocabulary, and nothing you are expected to have picked up along the way.
Swiping from the very edge of the screen does something different from swiping in the middle of it. These four are the same on nearly every phone sold.
Key points
Tap, long press, swipe, pinch, drag — the whole vocabulary
Long press is the right click; it offers rather than commits
Edge swipes: down for notifications, up for home, in from the left to go back
Pressing harder never helps — a lighter touch held longer does
What to remember
Tap to choose, hold for options, swipe to move the view, pinch to resize, drag to carry. That is the entire vocabulary.
Long press is the right click of the touchscreen. It never commits you to anything — it only offers.
Tap to choose, hold for options, swipe to move about, pinch to resize. Four verbs cover a whole phone.
Pinch for one page, Settings for every page. Nobody should be squinting at a phone.
Try this
Hold your finger on any app icon on your own phone and read the little menu that appears without choosing anything. Then press an empty part of the screen to make it go away. That is long press, and nothing happened.
Practice: Tap, hold, swipe, pinch. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.