> Direct(?) action controls. A button should DO something. Don’t give me a button that opens a drop-down that opens a menu to do something.

That works until it doesn’t. Screen real estate is limited and touch accommodations are expensive. You have to be mindful of what you expose and what you hide. There’s no point in flooding the UI with buttons when people can barely make them out or even interact with them accurately—a mistouch is a lot more expensive than two correct touches.