The UX Behind the New Camera Function in iOS 5.1 Lock Screen.

All of us who have updated the iPhone iOS to 5.1, have noticed something different in the lock screen. The camera icon has changed and you no longer need to double-press the home button in order to call the camera function. Let’s discuss the usability incentives that might have driven this decision.

The slide up gesture

So far, every interaction the user has with the lock screen is slide based. Slide to unlock, slide the notification icon to launch the relevant app. Why not just “touch”? Isn’t that better/faster? The idea behind this, is simply to avoid any accidental taps in the lock screen. The lock screen is triggered in many ways. You either press the power or home buttons, slide the silence switch, or receive a notification of any kind. This means that during these instances, the screen is available for interaction at its “locked” state. Before 5.1, the only lock screen function that could be easily triggered by accident, was the camera. This is why you had to press the home button twice to trigger it. But on the other hand, this is counter-intuitive. You have a basic function, that appears only when you press the button twice? Hence, Apple’s decision to put it as a main feature, omnipresent at the lock screen.

 

The new icon

Since Apple replaced the “tapping a button” style with a “slide up” gesture, they had to change the signifier. So, they replaced the button around the icon with 2 parallel lines above and under it, making it look more “fixed” and “drag able”.

Still, they did kinda needed to communicate this new interaction style change to the users. Every user, being used to the old method would simply touch and wait for the camera to launch. So, how do you solve this? Simple. When you tap on the button, instead of doing nothing, leaving you wondering what you did wrong, the entire lock screen moves up a bit and then drops back bouncing, resembling the ball movement when it hits the ground, playfully hinting the proper gesture that needs to be done in order to carry out the task.

The difference is in the details..!