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Mute Toggle or Orientation Lock?

  • Mute, husssssh! I need quiet

    Votes: 42 21.9%
  • Orientation, I know which way is up!

    Votes: 150 78.1%

  • Total voters
    192

iNeko

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 13, 2007
222
0
England
So, the new iOS beta has changed the toggle switch on the side to a mute switch (might be a bug?) but what would you prefer it to do? I personally use the orientation lock an awful lot for reading in bed, so it might take a while for me to get used to!
 
Unless the new iOS beta provides another way to do orientation lock, changing the toggle switch to mute functionality would be a disappointment for me.
 
My guess is that it is a bug because they pushed it out for iPhone and iPod as well. On those devices it is a mute switch so I'm hoping it was just an oversight.
 
If it's like the iPhone 4 orientation locking, you click the home button 2x, swipe to the left, and then click the lock icon. The problem with iPhone 4 though, is that it only lets you lock portrait, and not landscape. This would tick me off if they only allow locking in one direction on the iPad.

But... surely they wouldn't, as most iPad apps to even be approved by the App Store have to rotate neatly in all directions. I'll repost my findings tonight, planning on putting 4.2 beta on my iPad to do some testing.
 
It has been confirmed that it will let you lock it in both landscape and portrait on the iPad via the Lock Orientation icon.
 
If it's like the iPhone 4 orientation locking, you click the home button 2x, swipe to the left, and then click the lock icon. The problem with iPhone 4 though, is that it only lets you lock portrait, and not landscape. This would tick me off if they only allow locking in one direction on the iPad.

But... surely they wouldn't, as most iPad apps to even be approved by the App Store have to rotate neatly in all directions. I'll repost my findings tonight, planning on putting 4.2 beta on my iPad to do some testing.

Is it normal for apple to change the functionality of the hardware like that? After months of using it and getting used to how it works? Grr.
 
Orientation lock. It is easier for me to just hold down the volume down button for a few seconds to mute anyway.
 
Yeah, I find it amusing that TapTapTap's Camera+ app got banned from the App Store after their "Easter Egg" that lets you use a volume button to snap a picture. Apple's defense was "no remapping of hardware buttons in apps as it confuses the user".

Funny how they're changing their own rules and remapping the rotation toggle on the iPad hardware to be a mute now. :) Would be nice if you could have a choice. A mute switch for me on iPad isn't as big of a deal as it is on my iPhone 4 (which is almost always on buzz). I'd rather that stay as rotation lock.
 
Looks like news of this made front page! I am honestly hoping it's a bug, I can honestly see myself reading/surfing in bed while listening to music, rolling on my side and boom, muting the iPad :rolleyes:
 
I hope that we have a choice with this, though I doubt it with Apple. Mute button seems pointless to me on iPad.
 
My guess is that it is a bug because they pushed it out for iPhone and iPod as well. On those devices it is a mute switch so I'm hoping it was just an oversight.

Or they want to unify behaviors across devices. In fact it is likely that this is the way they originally intended the iPad to behave, but then they had no simple way of implementing the necessary orientation lock. Now that there is another place for it, the button returns to mute.

Personally I don't care either way. It's not like I find myself locking and unlocking the orientation every 2 minutes, so it doesn't really matter if it's going to take an extra 1.5 seconds.
 
I hope that we have a choice with this, though I doubt it with Apple. Mute button seems pointless to me on iPad.

iOS4 allows for multitasking >> Skype allows calls to iPad >> using Skype in the background means calls can come in while you're doing something else -- if you're in a meeting or on a conference call while using the iPad and a call comes in, maybe you want a quick mute option?

I'm often on conference calls in my office and almost as often someone calls in on my iPhone. I then lunge for the mute switch. I can see the same happening with the iPad.
 
You only say it is much easier to hold volume to mute because you're used to it. Honestly, I'd rather have mute. I rarely lock my screen orientation for a long period of time. It's only temporary. Mute is a different story. Mute through the hold volume button method is too tedious and gets in the way. What if I just want to reduce volume? It's faster to hold the button but then I would mute it. To reduce volume by a lot, I wold have to press it over and over. Dumb.
 
Uh, can I change my vote to "Mute". I've thought about it and, although I do lock my screen often, I'd like to be able to mute my iPad by reaching for the switch instead of blindly pressing the toggle when it's in my bag.
 
Orientation here for sure, I hardly ever touch the volume but I use the orientation lock all the time.
 
Well, it is a beta! Just a starter for the developers. Apple probably used the current ios 4.1 and made some adjustments. I bet that the beta 2 would fixed that or maybe in the settings you can choose.
 
If I want to mute, I just push the volume control down. If I am in a game, I don't want to have to close the game out and reopen in order to lock the orientation.
 
It's become a mute switch and likely will remain a mute switch so you can silence incoming FaceTime calls on the next iPad.

If it were just volume mute it wouldn't show the bell pop-up but the volume mute pop-up. I also suspect that you're able to turn up the volume even though it's muted for FaceTime calls.

If I want to mute, I just push the volume control down. If I am in a game, I don't want to have to close the game out and reopen in order to lock the orientation.

You wouldn't have to - double tap home, slide to the right, tap orientation lock.
 
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