Hold to bloom the ring
What it is. The core gesture of Zenith. Press and hold anywhere on the empty sky — your home screen — and a ring — a wheel of your apps — blooms under your finger.
How to do it. Touch an empty part of the sky and hold. After a brief pause the ring opens around your fingertip. Keep holding to keep it open; slide onto an app and lift to launch it (see Slide to launch).
What affects it. Two things change how the hold feels:
- Where your finger lands. A hold in a corner or along an edge runs the shortcut you've bound there instead of opening the ring — only a hold on open sky blooms the ring.
- How still you hold. If your finger slides too far before the ring opens, Zenith reads the move as a flick (a quick swipe) rather than a hold.
Why it works this way. The ring is Zenith's main surface — there's no app drawer to open first. The mental model behind it is in The ring engine.
For power users
if the ring opens too slowly or too eagerly for you, tune the pause in Settings › rings & effects › hold delay — lower it for a snappier bloom, raise it to avoid opening the ring by accident when you meant to flick or tap.
See also. Slide to launch · The ring engine · problems: Gestures conflict with system gestures