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Comment by dpark | Hacker News Reader

Apple's current choice is entirely logical. The home button takes you to the "desktop". Resetting the "desktop" to the "home screen" state is not a more logical path. It might or might not be a better choice, but it's not more logical, and it certainly wouldn't fit their guidelines any better.

As for the "one path" argument, making the button take you directly to the home screen doesn't reduce the number of paths. You exit the app via the home button and it takes you to one place. That's one path. Whether the path is to the home screen or back to the state you were in is a design choice that has no effect on the number of paths.

Personally, I think Apple made the right choice. It would be pretty obnoxious to be on screen 3, launch the wrong app on accident, and then be dumped back to screen 1 when exiting. I'd much rather be able to hit the home button and then immediately launch the app I intended to launch.

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If the "I launched the wrong app" problem is really why Apple did it like this, then they're optimizing for a rare use case at the expense of more common use cases.

I don't think the "launched the wrong app" is really that uncommon a use case. And after launching the wrong app and already being annoyed, the last thing I want is my phone to say "screw you" and make it harder for me to get to the app I intended.

There's also the use case where you have a related apps on the same screen or in the same folder. If you open a Facebook app, how likely is it that you'll want to check out Twitter next? If you get done checking the NYT headlines, might you want to open CNN or Flipboard next? Sick of Angry Birds so you open up Words With Friends? These scenarios don't seem that unlikely to me, but the "go to screen 1" behavior breaks them.

I might be in the minority, but none of these are things I do. I never need to check Twitter and Facebook at the same time, or play two games right after each other, or open several news apps. If I have a few minutes to waste, I open one of these apps. If I have a lot of time to waste, I open Instapaper or the Kindle app or a game I can play for a long time.

Even so, presumably, if these apps are important to you and you open them regularly, you have them on the first or second screen, so making the home button take you to the first screen doesn't seem like a huge additional burden.

I agree with dpark, the rage factor is definitely a lot higher for me if Apple adopt your idea.

It's called "home" button for a reason.

Thanks for the insight. Now we can discuss whether "home" means "screen 1" or if it means the "desktop app". Either could fit the word "home". Apple has so far chosen then second meaning.

Sure, we can discuss whatever we want. Of course, it's a screen 1. You can see it on any promotional picture. This, for example: http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/

What Apple chose is very clearly not the "first screen of apps". If that's what "home" meant to Apple then we wouldn't be discussing it, because that's all the "home" button would do.

Even if you go out through the window, it is still easier to come back through the front door.

Don't forget, when Apple gave it that name, there were no additional app screens, nor a search screen. Home was screen 1; there was no other option

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