[everforward]

I think the underlying issue is that phone power buttons are “special” in that they don’t work like literally any other power button.

I do not chord key binds on my desktop with the power button. My speakers, TV, router, etc will only ever turn off/on when I hit the power button.

It overrides a fairly rational user assumption: that “the power button” is responsible for controlling whether the device is on or off, and that that is its primary function.

They would probably fare better if they switched to calling it a Meta key (or something else that doesn’t invoke Facebook). Meta+VolumeDown to shut down makes more sense than Power+VolumeDown; the latter makes me wonder why the power button alone isn’t enough.

Overall, there really just aren’t enough context-free inputs on mobile phones. Apps generally use the whole screen, so all your non-app-specific inputs have to be put on weird chords of the 3-ish physical buttons a mobile phone has.

[Kirby64]

They’re also special in that the adverse outcome to powering them off accidentally is much more likely, though. Not many other devices are stored in our pockets and can be pressed accidentally.

Also, it probably would be best to call it a “sleep” button or “screen” button… or something like that. After all, that’s the primary single press function that is universal to all phones. It’s not actually a power button from a single press, it’s a button to toggle the screen on and off. The long press not resulting in a power off command is somewhat unusual, but also not ridiculous.