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I can't decide the placement of the button that will take the user to the next screen or that will submit a form.

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Apple uses both right bar button and bottom button in different cases. It's obvious that reaching the bottom button is more comfortable than reaching the right bar button. Yet, the bottom button takes too much space and makes it harder to view the content that is in the middle of the screen (especially when the keyboard is active).

Which one would you recommend? Or, you have a different approach?

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  • I'm not familiar with iOS development, but can it be that the top right button is used in a situation where you can go back and forth in the process and the bottom button in a situation where the action is more definitive and there is no turning back?
    – jazZRo
    Apr 7, 2022 at 9:14
  • I don't think that's an obligation. If you check most popular iOS apps, they use both buttons in either situation. For example, Messenger uses the right bar button to create a group chat and you can't go back or revert it once you tap the button. On the other hand, Snapchat mostly uses the bottom button for such an action.
    – Stewie Griffin
    Apr 7, 2022 at 16:27

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Your question is interesting because it seems like you intend to use one style of button for two potential actions that the user can perform. In fact, one of the reasons for the smaller footprint of the Next action on the top right hand corner is to create a smaller footprint and give more space to the main area. It also helps to provide continuity and consistency for navigating between screens.

The bottom bar is often used for important call-to-actions that require the user to commit to a more persistent action (e.g. Submit) and therefore it is intended to catch the user's attention and take up key screen real estate.

So if you are choose to use only one button for two potential actions then you may come across the exact issues you are describing, and therefore I would recommend that you keep the two buttons available for their respective potential use cases.

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  • I'm actually trying to design a form divided to 4-5 steps and the first screen is a small info about the form. I understand that I should use the buttons accordingly, but do you think it's plausible to use the right bar button for navigating and then to use the bottom bar to submit the form on the final screen? Would that be inconsistent in terms of user experience?
    – Stewie Griffin
    Apr 11, 2022 at 5:04
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    An alternative is to stack the buttons at the bottom to allow a user to navigate forward and backward between the different sections / steps of the form, but that would definitely take up too much screen space. I don't think it is inconsistent to use the right bar button for navigation and the bottom bar to submit the form on the final screen (but you have to also make the status of the left and right bar buttons consistent).
    – Michael Lai ♦
    Apr 11, 2022 at 7:19

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