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[Solved by hiding Navbar] Serious Screen Size Issues

lennydude

lennydude

Android Expert
I bought the Nexus 5 hoping to replace my aging Samsung S3. I love to use the phone for certain games and nice pictures but as you can see in my posted picture, much of the screen of the N5 is being robbed by the soft keys :(
Does anyone know of a possible fix for this? For me at least, this is becoming a deal breaker as time goes on. Other than that, I love the phone.
BTW...........I am not rooted and am just running Nova launcher. The phone does the exact same thing with the stock launcher :(

 
Nexus phones have had on screen buttons for many years. That's the way Google would prefer manufacturers to do it.

The N5 has a larger screen overall, so the area taken up by buttons shouldn't actually be that much different than what you're used to.


Plus, look at the difference in that picture. The N5's has much more detail
 
Software buttons were introduced in Android 3.0 Honeycomb back in 2011. There are many benefits to have software buttons over hardware button, but many of the positives come once you install a custom rom or at the very least root. Pie controls are a popular alternative, though I find them annoying. Some roms will give you the option to turn them on and off on the fly in the power menu, while others will let you customize them from color to function to how many of them.
 
Well................a history lesson on capacitive buttons? Doesn't really do much to help my situation.

And the larger screen on the N5 does not help. Like the picture says, it is a full 1/4 inch difference which on a phone screen is huge.

As far as detail goes, these pictures were taken with each phone so the "lack" of detail with the S3 is the direct result of the N5 camera app vice verse. In real life view, they look very similar. The pictures are not 100% the same size due to my lack of accurate cropping. Sorry.

Overall I love the phone. It is indeed a great piece. Not trying to bash it in any way. Just looking for a solution.

Do any of you guys know of an app that allows the full use of the screen. Never had a phone that has those kind of buttons. Again.....Sorry.
 
That is a lot of wasted space. If screen can't be extended you would be better of with capacitive keys there in that humongous bezel.
 
recDNA said:
That is a lot of wasted space. If screen can't be extended you would be better of with capacitive keys there in that humongous bezel.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. I hope as Ranhead says, the devs can come up with a solution.

BTW........I play a lot of Real Racing 3. I load the game on both phones and set them against each other. A very noticeable difference in screen size indeed.........S3 coming out the larger of the two.
 
While there is a lot of wasted screen as shown by that picture, I really have not noticed it or been bothered by it. I've come from a galaxy note, which is bigger than the s3 and I'm not missing the bigger screen it had at all. But each to their own and all that.
 
I'm at best buy so I just compared the G2 to the n5. On the G2 pictures are not shortened by menu keys at the bottom. I wonder why they won't go away in the n5? They turn into dots but take up as much space as the icons anyway. Odd.
 
Thought a week back I was watching youtube vids about the N5, and noticed in one of the vids the soft keys would hide and then with a touch of the screen would reappear, could be wrong. I will double check and see what I find.
 
You are using Nova, so the screen key area is black. In the Nova beta, which will soon become the release version, the area behind the buttons and the notification status bar will be transparent like the stock launcher. I suspect that will help.
 
WOOHOO!!!!

n5c.jpg




Xposed 2.4-beta1 (KitKat) was released last night. Combine that with Gravitybox 2.7.5 and full screen ahead. :D

I also set up pie controls in Gravitybox. So far I am liking them.
 
If rooting isn't a problem, then you should root and install the Cataclysm ROM for the Nexus 5. It's a stock-based rom, except it also brings many things from Jellybean that you might have missed. And, best of all, it has an immersive mode, which hides the status bar AND navigation bar with a simple swipe from the bottom or top of the screen. And it works in any app, too!
 
theenextkb24 said:
If rooting isn't a problem, then you should root and install the Cataclysm ROM for the Nexus 5.
Click to expand...

You need root for Xposed as well. I tried Cataclysm and it wasn't perfect for me. Right now I am digging making my own "adjustments" in a search of my perfection. :D

BTW .... this is what the pie controls look like

n5d.jpg



Ignore the volume slider, that was my cubby fingers trying to do three things at once - hehe
 
lennydude said:
Isn't that the truth :)

Loving the Nexus experience more and more :)

Had rooted my Droid X and S3 but this Nexus is the bomb !!

Can you say "bootloader" :):)
Click to expand...

Thats one thing I missed the most from other devices on my relatively short trip with the S3
 
krs128 said:
am I missing something? with 4.4 the soft keys at the bottom are transparent.. so not sure what any one is talking about?

when you view pictures in the gallery the soft keys go away if you tap the screen.. so again, I am at a loss.

did OP some how get 4.3 on his N5? if so why...

EDIT: just saw he is using Nova maybe that makes the soft keys not transparent.. should have read better.
Click to expand...

What you say is somewhat true. The soft keys disappear but..........does the picture increase to full screen? No..............what you are left with is the same real estate but you now have just 3 dots. No increase in screen size at all. AND, I would rather NOT see the soft keys even if they are transparent......... I would like them to go away.
 
lennydude said:
What you say is somewhat true. The soft keys disappear but..........does the picture increase to full screen? No..............what you are left with is the same real estate but you now have just 3 dots. No increase in screen size at all. AND, I would rather NOT see the soft keys even if they are transparent......... I would like them to go away.
Click to expand...

Check out "Ultimate Dynamic Navbar Lite"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mrbimc.udn.lite

Try that, if you like it, go for the full version.

I was in on the full beta - this one rocks and is probably what you want if it's compatible. Comments say it is with the N5.

Root required of course.
 
lennydude said:
Downloading it as I type this. Will let you know :)

Thanks very much!

Lenny
Click to expand...

I have capacitive buttons, not an N5, all programmable thanks to my rom features. (And my phone had those stupid 3 dots on screen in addition to my hard buttons lol.)

I liked that app so much that I ran it in addition to what I have from my rom. :)

I'm betting you'll really dig it.
 
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