On my new phone, OnePlus with Android 12, the incoming call UX is abysmal. There is a circle with a phone handset in the middle, with white chevrons indicating you can swipe up or down. Somehow you are supposed to guess that up means answer and down means decline. On my old android 11 phone at least there was a green icon for answer and red icon for decline, but it was still swipe left or right. What is it with these asshole interface designers who think that left/right or up/down has some universal meaning? Fuck these people.
I actually like these (in concept). I agree that hiding things is often a bad Idea but for such fundamental navigation that you use constantly it is fine to have to learn if it makes it easier, faster or has other important benefits (such as reduced screen space usage in this case). Sure you have to learn, but it is a worthwhile investment and you aren’t going to forget.