iPad volume concept - am I a genius?

[cohenben]

Am I genius about to give away a billion dollar idea? I don't care - I just want this implemented.

When I rotate my iPad (or iPhone, for that matter), why didn't Apple design things so the volume controls automatically reverse — in other words, the volume adjustment becomes intuitive no matter what direction I hold the device? The volume controls should reverse themselves based on the screen orientation.

How many times do you accidentally lower your volume instead of raise it, or vice-versa? ALL THE DANG TIME, right?!

Boom! Fix it please, Steve-o.

Maybe this has already been discussed previously, and I know this forum is not a direct channel to get these things moving - but I was wondering if this idea has already been discussed or if I'm somehow a clairvoyant gadget user? How can I get a job testing gadgets at Apple - I've got about a million more of these. I could not find anything in google or the local forums about this.

 

[rdowns]

I'll give you this. It's not the stupidest idea ever put forth on MR.

 

[msmyth]

I'll give you this. It's not the stupidest idea ever put forth on MR.

Pretty close though!

Muscle memory makes this null and void imo. When the ipad is "upside down" for me, the volume controls are now on the left, and i know that it is upside down, and act accordingly.

 

[cohenben]

Pretty close though!

Muscle memory makes this null and void imo. When the ipad is "upside down" for me, the volume controls are now on the left, and i know that it is upside down, and act accordingly.

Well, duh, of course I can figure it out. But that's sort of my whole point. Why should I have to "know" that it is upside down?! Having to think about what orientation my iPad sits interrupts the whole "magical" flow of my netflix movie watching experience. When my girlfriend interrupts me while I'm watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on instant and I want to pretend to care about what she's saying - it is really frustrating to accidentally RAISE my volume. I don't have time to think about my screen orientation in relation to my volume adjustment controls when I'm under that kind of emotional pressure.

 

[Gleemen]

There is a tweak for this if you jb your iPad.

 

[mac jones]

Yes your a genius. Knowing that this is a huge innovation worth billions of dollars is a sure sign.

 

[cohenben]

Yes your a genius. Knowing that this is a huge innovation worth billions of dollars is a sure sign.

Thank you! I appreciate the acknowledgement... Nobody ever gets due credit these days.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

You do realize he's being sarcastic? He's just missing a SarcMark®.

Not a bad idea I guess but I've never accidentally hit volume up when in landscape- my mind automatically adjusts along with the orientation.

 

[LordOBoogie]

No. No, you are not a genius.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

You do realize he's being sarcastic? He's just missing a SarcMark®.

Not a bad idea I guess but I've never accidentally hit volume up when in landscape- my mind automatically adjusts along with the orientation.

Same here. Volume up is always next to rotation lock, no matter the orientation.

 

[raremage]

Thank you! I appreciate the acknowledgement... Nobody ever gets due credit these days.

I'm sure Apple will be paying you for this. In fact your check is in the mail. Just sit there and wait for it....wait for it....just a littttttle longer.....

 

[OneMike]

Have to be honest and say this idea is not great at all. I've also owned an iphone since the 1st gen came out and I can't recall ever having the problem you want to get a solution for.

 

[mac jones]

You do realize he's being sarcastic? He's just missing a SarcMark®.

Not a bad idea I guess but I've never accidentally hit volume up when in landscape- my mind automatically adjusts along with the orientation.

I was not being sarcastic. This fellow is brilliant. And proud of it. Lets' give credit were it's do.

Nobel?

 

[r0k]

I don't like the placement of the volume and antirotation controls. I end up hitting them by accident when holding my ipad at times. I would like a way to disable the controls in settings so they don't do anything. As for reversing them depending on how I hold my device, I would not like that feature. For me, it is more an issue of which control is further from the center of the device. If volume down is closer to the center of the device, I don't care if it's on top, bottom left or right, I always know which one to hit to get volume down. But if it started swapping with volume up simply because of accelerometer input, that would bother me. I think changing the way these controls operate based on the accelerometer would cause more confusion. Keep in mind, sometimes accelerometer input is too responsive. You could wind up with these controls swapping states while you turn your device over to get a better look at them.

Sorry OP, but if this "feature" became available in a future OS, I'd be on the phone with Apple figuring out how to disable it.

 

[rdowns]

Thank you! I appreciate the acknowledgement... Nobody ever gets due credit these days.

I'll give you the credit you deserve.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

The people at Apple will be calling this man soon and he is on the short list to replace Jobs when the time comes. He is just the man to bring innovation back to Apple.

 

[cohenben]

I think changing the way these controls operate based on the accelerometer would cause more confusion. Keep in mind, sometimes accelerometer input is too responsive. You could wind up with these controls swapping states while you turn your device over to get a better look at them.

First off - there are 4 very distinct buttons on the iPad... Home, sleep/power, volume and lock. They are all very different and if you have to look at them them you've got bigger issues.

Second, to clarify (because of course everyone who disagrees with my BRILLIANT innovation must misunderstand it): I want my physical volume control simply to mirror any on-screen volume control. For example, why would it make sense for the volume bar in Pandora to raise and lower levels from right to left, respectively, while the physical buttons do the opposite. The physical volume buttons should reverse their functionality based on my screen orientation to match. If I lock my screen, it could also lock the volume so r0k can flip his iPad upside down just to mute it. All of this could be optional in the iPad settings.

 

[KevKaos]

How can I get a job testing gadgets at Apple -

Well, you start with SEARCH. Oh wait, you're not qualified.

sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[Chimera-se]

I don't see why I just can't "think" the volume higher or lower. Why is there a volume button at all? Is this asking too much? I did hear somewhere this was both a revolutionary and magical device. Seems logical enough to me. And sticking with the tone of the thread, no sarcasm was used in creating this post...

 

[CD3660]

I don't see why I just can't "think" the volume higher or lower...

Just what I was thinking, and implementing that WOULD be a stroke of genius!

 

[Maaz]

Umm....no

 

[Jay42]

Am I genius about to give away a billion dollar idea? I don't care - I just want this implemented.

When I rotate my iPad (or iPhone, for that matter), why didn't Apple design things so the volume controls automatically reverse — in other words, the volume adjustment becomes intuitive no matter what direction I hold the device? The volume controls should reverse themselves based on the screen orientation.

I have often thought this about the iPad / iPhone. Good idea, yes. Genius, no....

 

[pondie84]

When my girlfriend interrupts me while I'm watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Oh dear... Why ever would you be doing that?

 

[Chimera-se]

If anyone really wants to be a genius, just go to your local Apple store, put in an application (I'm sure they have a rigorous interviewing process...), and then, only then, will I give said mental prowess any credence. You will even have a shirt to prove it!

 

[paulisme]

Well, duh, of course I can figure it out. But that's sort of my whole point. Why should I have to "know" that it is upside down?!

What about people like me who knows that when the iPad is upside down, the volume controls will be, too. I then hit the top button to turn down the volume but it goes up. Now I'm the one who has to learn that a button functions differently based on how the device is oriented, rather than the way every other physical button works in the world which does the same thing regardless of how it's positioned.