IT is always a better option to have options. With the recent advancements of touchscreen technologies, the way we interact with our mobile phones is changing. And that too is changing big time. With Apple and Samsung (flagship Galaxy phones) sticking to single Home button for doing multiple things, HTC has done away with physical buttons on the front screen. Even Google Nexus 4 doesn't have any physical button on its front. All are soft keys. Few years back, we were so used to 3 buttons in Nokia phones where one button was especially reserved for answering calls and was labeled green, the others menu key and Red button which was really red. It had the power of bringing any running thing to a full-stop whether it was an ongoing call or a game or anything else. But, Apple changed the way we interacted with our phones and others followed suit. So, some manufacturers went even ahead of Apple and removed the only physical button on the front. HTC went even further with its latest offering, the One. It is indeed One of its kind. Though it is Android, it doesn't sport the three soft-keys which people were used to see on Android. Only two buttons are there on the front, that can accomplish many of the features, if not all, that three soft-keys can do.
But I like Galaxy series of mobiles in Android space because they give options. They still provide the physical Home button that in my sense, is great. Option is that you can still unlock your phone by pressing your home key or you can even answer your calls. Yes, answer your calls using your home key. Isn't it great? You can't do this with others. You have to swipe over the screen whenever a call comes. Why can't we have options?
So, let me explain you how to enable this feature which is the RETRO way of answering phone, but still is quite useful. I am demonstrating this feature for Samsung Galaxy S3 here. It is pretty simple to answer phone by pressing the Home key whenever a call comes through. There is even an option to disconnect calls by using Lock button, but I won't advocate it as we keep pressing Lock key for something or the other which will surprise you when your call gets disconnected, and it's better not to have surprises as there are already so many disconnects during calls because of network issues. Anyways, let's come to the original point of discussion on how to answer the phone using Home key in GS3. So, here are the steps that you can follow to do the settings, once and for all:
But I like Galaxy series of mobiles in Android space because they give options. They still provide the physical Home button that in my sense, is great. Option is that you can still unlock your phone by pressing your home key or you can even answer your calls. Yes, answer your calls using your home key. Isn't it great? You can't do this with others. You have to swipe over the screen whenever a call comes. Why can't we have options?
So, let me explain you how to enable this feature which is the RETRO way of answering phone, but still is quite useful. I am demonstrating this feature for Samsung Galaxy S3 here. It is pretty simple to answer phone by pressing the Home key whenever a call comes through. There is even an option to disconnect calls by using Lock button, but I won't advocate it as we keep pressing Lock key for something or the other which will surprise you when your call gets disconnected, and it's better not to have surprises as there are already so many disconnects during calls because of network issues. Anyways, let's come to the original point of discussion on how to answer the phone using Home key in GS3. So, here are the steps that you can follow to do the settings, once and for all:
- Go to Settings. Scroll down to the end. You will notice hand icon which says 'Accessibility' as shown below:
- Now, select the option 'Call answering/ending' in the Accessibility window. You can see the screenshot below:
- Check the check-box 'The home key answers calls' and you're set to go. As the item description says 'Accept incoming calls by pressing the home key' so is the feature. I would suggest not to select the check-box 'The power key ends calls' as told earlier. See the screenshot below:
This feature is really helpful in some cases hand-picked by me:
- You are playing a video while holding your mobile with your right hand and your thumb is next to home button. And a call comes through. You don't have to struggle to reach to the Green icon and swipe in any direction on the screen. Just press the home button and bingo! You can answer your phone in fractions of second.
- You're wearing gloves and don't want to take out your gloves to answer your phone. Just press the Home button.
- If you're using your phone with left hand and a call comes through, it is difficult to slide the finger to answer the call. But pressing the key is always easy.
Let me know your thoughts and cases where you might prefer answering calls in Retro style instead of swiping across your screen.
