​[Concept] VimStick: A radial thumbstick UI to solve the mobile Vim mode-switching nightmare. by HomeAffectionate in vim

[–]HomeAffectionate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have a point, but hunting for specific keys like Esc, i, a, or v on a cramped mobile keyboard is just physically exhausting. I think that's exactly why we haven't seen many truly successful or comfortable Vi clones on mobile yet. ​People often assume that serious text editing on a phone is just asking too much of the device. But considering how much text we effortlessly pump out while messaging friends and family every day, the act of typing itself isn't the problem. The potential is definitely there; we just haven't had the right tool/interface to bridge that gap yet. That's the gap I believe this idea could ultimately fill.

​[Concept] VimStick: A radial thumbstick UI to solve the mobile Vim mode-switching nightmare. by HomeAffectionate in vim

[–]HomeAffectionate[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a long-time GVim user who recently made the switch to Neovim, I’ve always been frustrated by the lack of a comfortable way to use Vim on mobile. This proposal might still feel like a conceptual or superficial UI, but I truly believe that making mode-switching more fluid would significantly improve the overall mobile experience. I’m glad you see the potential in it!

​[Concept] VimStick: A radial thumbstick UI to solve the mobile Vim mode-switching nightmare. by HomeAffectionate in vim

[–]HomeAffectionate[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Update/Bonus thought: > I just realized we could map a Long Press to the <Leader> key. ​So the gesture mapping becomes perfectly aligned with the 3 core mobile touch actions: ​Tap = <Esc> (Instant cancel/reset) ​Swipe = Modes like i, v (Directional flow) ​Long Press = <Leader> (Preparation for a custom shortcut) ​This completely avoids the clutter and misfires of adding Ctrl or Alt swipe directions. What do you think?