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I can't be the only one who uses the iPad's orientation lock button frequently... The very impractical decision to transform it to a mute button is enough of a

by thorax 16y ago

I can't be the only one who uses the iPad's orientation lock button frequently... The very impractical decision to transform it to a mute button is enough of a frustration that it will be a good while before I can convince myself to upgrade to an otherwise compelling release.

BigZaphod 16y ago
While running the betas, I had that experience as well. Oddly, I got used to the new method after awhile and don't really think about it anymore. But I suppose that's not going to be true for everyone and I may not have used the switch as often as others do, anyway. :)
DrJokepu 16y ago
I suppose orientation lock on the iPad will be handled similarly as it is on the iPhone 4: double "click" with the button to bring up the task switcher, slide right the task switcher and the orientation lock button will be on the left.
- jasongullickson 16y ago
  Wow, that's an interestingly buried little bit of sugar.
  - bphogan 16y ago
    Very much so. Very happy to have it too - I had to return my iPad when the orientation lock button broke 1 day in. Having a software option for this makes a lot of sense.
- weaksauce 16y ago
  Exactly, this is to make all the devices behave the same.
jsz0 16y ago
I very rarely use it. The iPad is pretty good about detecting the proper orientation. What types of things require you to lock it often?
- DrJokepu 16y ago
  Imagine laying in the bed on your side and trying to read a book.
  - jsz0 16y ago
    Sure but you lock it once and you're all set. When the OP said frequently I envisioned him locking/unlocking more often than that. The thing is screen orientation only matters if the display is on. If the display is on the task switcher lock control is accessible. There would basically never be any use for the lock button when the display was off. Contrast that with audio playback where the display may be off and the task switcher audio controls inaccessible.
    - bonaldi 16y ago
      "All set"? Hardly. You lock it once, but then you fidget and roll over. Oop, need to unlock. So now you have to double-press and try and work the task bar upside down to unlock, then chase the lock button round as the screen rotates to lock it again. Move again? Same daft dance. Compare to now, where you can unlock and relock the device while you roll, without looking at the screen.
      - rendezvouscp 16y ago
        I don’t have an iPad so perhaps I’m missing something, but couldn’t you just rotate the device and leave the lock as is?
  - mkramlich 16y ago
    I upgraded my iPhone 4 from 4.1 to 4.2 to see if they made any changes to orientation control on it. No dice. It still lets you lock it into Portrait orientation, or, leave it unlocked. No option to lock it into Landscape mode. Very annoying. Some websites and apps just work better in Landscape mode. Don't understand why it's so hard for them to allow that. Why only Portrait and not Landscape?
gamble 16y ago
I think they made the right decision. The orientation lock is still available on the task switching bar, which is a better place for it since there's no need to lock orientation unless the iPad is already unlocked and in use. The problem with the current 'hold volume down to mute' is that you can't mute without unlocking the iPad first... which makes a noise. It's also inconsistent with the iPhone.
- sudont 16y ago
  At the Genius Bar on Saturday (free out-of-warranty repair, to boot) the chick who was doing the sign-in on an iPad used the orientation lock about four times while she checked in the lady ahead of me and myself. I'd say that an orientation-aware app used on a public floor would be extremely needy for this sort of hardware lock. It's not typical usage, however.
- bonaldi 16y ago
  If you have a PIN set for the screenlock you can often need to control orientation from the locked state. Orientation lock is incredibly useful in two key areas for iPad: people lounging at home, and in business. I use the lock all the time in both settings -- especially when I'm using the iPad to demo and want to be able to pass it around the room. Hiding the lock away in an area where many, many people will never find it and it's far slower to access is a hugely retrograde step, and the only thing in its defence is that it's consistent with the iPhone. Which is no defence at all: not only are the buttons different (vertical lock vs horizontal), the two devices are different, too. I feel so strongly about this I'm staying on 3.2. I haven't felt the need to multitask on iPad yet -- I have an iPhone anyway :)
Terretta 16y ago
I've been using this beta since the first iteration, and I still cannot stand the step backwards in usability from changing out the function of this switch. People use their iPhones to listen to things, but use iPads for the screen. On a device you listen to and that RINGS, making this a mute switch makes sense. On a device you use for the screen, you're often twisting and turning views between portrait and landscape such as to suit each new web site you visit, so making this an orientation lock makes sense. These devices are not the same, and the switch doesn't need to do the same thing. It was a bad decision. People don't confuse their iPhone with their iPad. Both functions are accessible from the home home swipe screen; the hardware switches could have remained purposed to the device's most common uses.
- siglesias 16y ago
  Push notifications and email alerts make lots of noise when the product is not in use, unlike MacBooks. It's pretty convenient to have the option to silence them with the flip of a switch without having to turn on the iPad.
  - LordLandon 16y ago
    But.. the point of the iPad is to be instant-on.. Is it really that much trouble?
    - siglesias 16y ago
      Since most iPad users utilize cases, it's pretty much the same three steps to mute as it is now to lock orientation. Given that mute make sense for a physical switch because it's a function relevant to an off iPad, it wins out.
- YooLi 16y ago
  I hated it with the first beta too, but having used the betas this long, I am totally used to using the software orientation lock instead of the switch. I don't even try to use it anymore. Just give it some time :) An unrelated but interesting tip I stumbled on: on the lock screen, you can double click the home button to bring up the audio controls (without unlocking the device). Using those controls you can skip unlimited Pandora songs without getting the 'our license doesn't let you skip...' warning.
jfb 16y ago
To me, this regression just means that the switch is toast in the next iPad hardware release.
siglesias 16y ago
Nope. Everybody is missing here that the mute switch has a dual purpose as an indicator when the iPad is not in use. This means that if you're at a meeting, you can just glance down at the iPad and tell if it will make noise. There is nothing essential about orientation that warrants its being indicated externally when iPad's not in use.
- rscott 16y ago
  Be serious. The amount of people that use the iPad in meetings in negligible compared to the amount that use it laying in their bed every evening, where the orientation switch was very useful.
  - siglesias 16y ago
    How do you know? Business and education are a couple of the biggest markets for this product, so I'm sure there are lots of folks who will be using these in meetings, class, and in the library. I've been using this OS for over a month and I can tell you that you get accustomed to it quickly, and the mute switch will come in handy. And the lock can be activated from the task tray, so it's still there.
  - jsz0 16y ago
    Just to be clear the orientation lock is still there. It's now a software toggle instead of a physical switch.
- kemiller 16y ago
  I can see a case for using it as the mute switch. I can't see a case for changing the behavior and not providing any way at all to get the old behavior back.
CamperBob 16y ago
I find this kind of disturbing as well. Orientation lock is insanely important on the iPad, and Apple must have realized that because they gave it its own hardware switch to begin with. On my iPhone running 4.1, I only just discovered the double-click-and-swipe orientation lock control because somebody mentioned it on here somewhere... and it's completely broken because it locks the display into portrait mode rather than whatever mode is active at the moment. Is this true of iOS 4.2 as well -- meaning, you can only lock the display in portrait mode with the double-click-wave-a-dead-cat-and-swipe-the-task-list maneuver? If so, I absolutely am not going to upgrade my iPad to 4.2. The real frustration is that this would be a perfect place for a system preference: "Side switch: Orientation lock / Mute". But as usual, it's Steve's way or the highway.
- jodrellblank 16y ago
  I've tested it, and in portrait it locks into portrait mode, in landscape it locks into landscape mode.
  - CamperBob 16y ago
    Really? Because I would love to be wrong about this. It absolutely does not work that way on the iPhone (3Gs), and I'm given to understand that the whole reason behind this change was to unify the behavior across the different iOS platforms. Why would they support locking both modes on the iPad, and not on the iPhone? It's not that I don't believe you, but I'm still reluctant to install 4.2 on my iPad until I understand what Apple actually did here.
    - jodrellblank 16y ago
      Yes really; yes it does not work that way on an iPhone. I have no sure knowledge about the reason behind the change and could only guess why they would support it on one but not the other. It is that you don't believe me, otherwise you would ... believe me; that's OK though I grok "trust, but verify" so I quickly made a demo video: http://www.vimeo.com/17180004 http://www.vimeo.com/17180004
blaines 16y ago
Is it just me or does the mute switch not actually function? I'm running pandora and I flipped the "mute" switch and it did nothing. I then switched to a video podcast and the same issue occurs, flipping the switch does NOT mute. The volume rocker worked normally... holding it down actually muted the device. I've been aware of this change since beta, but what's the point? Especially if it doesn't function as expected. The iPad doesn't have a ringer or a vibrator (lol, for lack of a better word). I find this confusing! Which mute mutes‽ I preferred it as an orientation lock anyway... Maybe this should be configurable?

by thorax 16y ago

BigZaphod 16y ago

While running the betas, I had that experience as well. Oddly, I got used to the new method after awhile and don't really think about it anymore. But I suppose that's not going to be true for everyone and I may not have used the switch as often as others do, anyway. :)

DrJokepu 16y ago

I suppose orientation lock on the iPad will be handled similarly as it is on the iPhone 4: double "click" with the button to bring up the task switcher, slide right the task switcher and the orientation lock button will be on the left.

jasongullickson 16y ago
Wow, that's an interestingly buried little bit of sugar.
- bphogan 16y ago
  Very much so. Very happy to have it too - I had to return my iPad when the orientation lock button broke 1 day in. Having a software option for this makes a lot of sense.
weaksauce 16y ago
Exactly, this is to make all the devices behave the same.

jsz0 16y ago

I very rarely use it. The iPad is pretty good about detecting the proper orientation. What types of things require you to lock it often?

DrJokepu 16y ago
Imagine laying in the bed on your side and trying to read a book.
- jsz0 16y ago
  Sure but you lock it once and you're all set. When the OP said frequently I envisioned him locking/unlocking more often than that. The thing is screen orientation only matters if the display is on. If the display is on the task switcher lock control is accessible. There would basically never be any use for the lock button when the display was off. Contrast that with audio playback where the display may be off and the task switcher audio controls inaccessible.
  - bonaldi 16y ago
    "All set"? Hardly. You lock it once, but then you fidget and roll over. Oop, need to unlock. So now you have to double-press and try and work the task bar upside down to unlock, then chase the lock button round as the screen rotates to lock it again. Move again? Same daft dance. Compare to now, where you can unlock and relock the device while you roll, without looking at the screen.
    - rendezvouscp 16y ago
      I don’t have an iPad so perhaps I’m missing something, but couldn’t you just rotate the device and leave the lock as is?
- mkramlich 16y ago
  I upgraded my iPhone 4 from 4.1 to 4.2 to see if they made any changes to orientation control on it. No dice. It still lets you lock it into Portrait orientation, or, leave it unlocked. No option to lock it into Landscape mode. Very annoying. Some websites and apps just work better in Landscape mode. Don't understand why it's so hard for them to allow that. Why only Portrait and not Landscape?

gamble 16y ago

I think they made the right decision. The orientation lock is still available on the task switching bar, which is a better place for it since there's no need to lock orientation unless the iPad is already unlocked and in use. The problem with the current 'hold volume down to mute' is that you can't mute without unlocking the iPad first... which makes a noise. It's also inconsistent with the iPhone.

sudont 16y ago
At the Genius Bar on Saturday (free out-of-warranty repair, to boot) the chick who was doing the sign-in on an iPad used the orientation lock about four times while she checked in the lady ahead of me and myself. I'd say that an orientation-aware app used on a public floor would be extremely needy for this sort of hardware lock. It's not typical usage, however.
bonaldi 16y ago
If you have a PIN set for the screenlock you can often need to control orientation from the locked state. Orientation lock is incredibly useful in two key areas for iPad: people lounging at home, and in business. I use the lock all the time in both settings -- especially when I'm using the iPad to demo and want to be able to pass it around the room. Hiding the lock away in an area where many, many people will never find it and it's far slower to access is a hugely retrograde step, and the only thing in its defence is that it's consistent with the iPhone. Which is no defence at all: not only are the buttons different (vertical lock vs horizontal), the two devices are different, too. I feel so strongly about this I'm staying on 3.2. I haven't felt the need to multitask on iPad yet -- I have an iPhone anyway :)

Terretta 16y ago

I've been using this beta since the first iteration, and I still cannot stand the step backwards in usability from changing out the function of this switch. People use their iPhones to listen to things, but use iPads for the screen. On a device you listen to and that RINGS, making this a mute switch makes sense. On a device you use for the screen, you're often twisting and turning views between portrait and landscape such as to suit each new web site you visit, so making this an orientation lock makes sense. These devices are not the same, and the switch doesn't need to do the same thing. It was a bad decision. People don't confuse their iPhone with their iPad. Both functions are accessible from the home home swipe screen; the hardware switches could have remained purposed to the device's most common uses.

siglesias 16y ago
Push notifications and email alerts make lots of noise when the product is not in use, unlike MacBooks. It's pretty convenient to have the option to silence them with the flip of a switch without having to turn on the iPad.
- LordLandon 16y ago
  But.. the point of the iPad is to be instant-on.. Is it really that much trouble?
  - siglesias 16y ago
    Since most iPad users utilize cases, it's pretty much the same three steps to mute as it is now to lock orientation. Given that mute make sense for a physical switch because it's a function relevant to an off iPad, it wins out.
YooLi 16y ago
I hated it with the first beta too, but having used the betas this long, I am totally used to using the software orientation lock instead of the switch. I don't even try to use it anymore. Just give it some time :) An unrelated but interesting tip I stumbled on: on the lock screen, you can double click the home button to bring up the audio controls (without unlocking the device). Using those controls you can skip unlimited Pandora songs without getting the 'our license doesn't let you skip...' warning.

jfb 16y ago

To me, this regression just means that the switch is toast in the next iPad hardware release.

siglesias 16y ago

Nope. Everybody is missing here that the mute switch has a dual purpose as an indicator when the iPad is not in use. This means that if you're at a meeting, you can just glance down at the iPad and tell if it will make noise. There is nothing essential about orientation that warrants its being indicated externally when iPad's not in use.

rscott 16y ago
Be serious. The amount of people that use the iPad in meetings in negligible compared to the amount that use it laying in their bed every evening, where the orientation switch was very useful.
- siglesias 16y ago
  How do you know? Business and education are a couple of the biggest markets for this product, so I'm sure there are lots of folks who will be using these in meetings, class, and in the library. I've been using this OS for over a month and I can tell you that you get accustomed to it quickly, and the mute switch will come in handy. And the lock can be activated from the task tray, so it's still there.
- jsz0 16y ago
  Just to be clear the orientation lock is still there. It's now a software toggle instead of a physical switch.
kemiller 16y ago
I can see a case for using it as the mute switch. I can't see a case for changing the behavior and not providing any way at all to get the old behavior back.

CamperBob 16y ago

I find this kind of disturbing as well. Orientation lock is insanely important on the iPad, and Apple must have realized that because they gave it its own hardware switch to begin with. On my iPhone running 4.1, I only just discovered the double-click-and-swipe orientation lock control because somebody mentioned it on here somewhere... and it's completely broken because it locks the display into portrait mode rather than whatever mode is active at the moment. Is this true of iOS 4.2 as well -- meaning, you can only lock the display in portrait mode with the double-click-wave-a-dead-cat-and-swipe-the-task-list maneuver? If so, I absolutely am not going to upgrade my iPad to 4.2. The real frustration is that this would be a perfect place for a system preference: "Side switch: Orientation lock / Mute". But as usual, it's Steve's way or the highway.

jodrellblank 16y ago
I've tested it, and in portrait it locks into portrait mode, in landscape it locks into landscape mode.
- CamperBob 16y ago
  Really? Because I would love to be wrong about this. It absolutely does not work that way on the iPhone (3Gs), and I'm given to understand that the whole reason behind this change was to unify the behavior across the different iOS platforms. Why would they support locking both modes on the iPad, and not on the iPhone? It's not that I don't believe you, but I'm still reluctant to install 4.2 on my iPad until I understand what Apple actually did here.
  - jodrellblank 16y ago
    Yes really; yes it does not work that way on an iPhone. I have no sure knowledge about the reason behind the change and could only guess why they would support it on one but not the other. It is that you don't believe me, otherwise you would ... believe me; that's OK though I grok "trust, but verify" so I quickly made a demo video: http://www.vimeo.com/17180004 http://www.vimeo.com/17180004

blaines 16y ago

Is it just me or does the mute switch not actually function? I'm running pandora and I flipped the "mute" switch and it did nothing. I then switched to a video podcast and the same issue occurs, flipping the switch does NOT mute. The volume rocker worked normally... holding it down actually muted the device. I've been aware of this change since beta, but what's the point? Especially if it doesn't function as expected. The iPad doesn't have a ringer or a vibrator (lol, for lack of a better word). I find this confusing! Which mute mutes‽ I preferred it as an orientation lock anyway... Maybe this should be configurable?