18 ms·
I dont get it, why they are doing this. I use this button all the time, it is very convenient to have this function as a hardware button as opposed to software
by doron 16y ago
I dont get it, why they are doing this.
I use this button all the time, it is very convenient to have this function as a hardware button as opposed to software on the screen.
You already have a mute button, a long press on the volume button achieves exactly that. This is a surprising, and IMO a poor usability choice by Apple.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- happybuy 16y agoThey are doing it so that their products, from an iPod Touch to an iPhone to a iPad all have a consistent way of handling screen lock and mute. On release of the iPad, iOS4 (which contains a screen lock software control via double-click of the home button) was not yet ready. Therefore for the time being they repurposed the mute switch to be a temporary screen lock until they had finished implementing the software implementation. The other option they had was to leave out screen lock completely at the start (which is what the original press materials showed for a while) but I think we can all imagine the outrage in the press & reviews if there was no way to lock the screen at all, so they repurposed the mute switch for the time being.
- arst 16y agoDo new iPod Touches have a mute switch? Mine from about a year ago doesn't.
- Glide 16y agoI installed iOS 4.2 beta on my ipad last week so I kind of get what you're saying. The main thing I noticed is that when I needed to mute I typically need to mute quicker than I need to switch orientation. Whenever I need to orientation lock I can easily set it up before hand. I usually need to set my iPad to mute because I have to take care of something that comes up. And holding down volume down seems to get rid of my volume setting whereas having a switch does not.