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Most unintuitive feature in the history of Apple.

Pigumon

Pigumon

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
441
1
The iPad 2 side switch. Off, it's UP, On, it's down. Completely the reverse of the most common on off switch, the light switch.

Not a single peson who's ever used my iPad has pushed down first to turn it on.

Any guesses as to why Apple would do that?
 
I'll guess: Apple engineers were always used to having the great home button they designed on the top. :D
 
Shawnpk said:
Up = rotation on. Down = rotation off.

or

Up = sound on. Down = sound off.

How's that wrong?
Click to expand...

Go to settings. In Apple's own words- Lock Rotation and Mute.

Up = Lock Off. Down = Lock On.

or

Up= Mute Off. Down = Mute On.

That's how it's wrong. :cool:

I really wish they had worded it your way, because now it's stuck in my head the (wrong) Apple way.
 
Eh, I don't know what's the big deal about it. If there's a lock icon, I flip the switch to unlock it. If I want to lock it, I reach for the switch and flip it too. Position really doesn't matter, at least for me.
 
I noticed this too. It's very definitely a switch for mute/lock. And up is off. Every time I try to push it the wrong way, and assume i've got the wrong button and try switching the volume buttons instead!
 
Shawnpk said:
Up = rotation on. Down = rotation off.

or

Up = sound on. Down = sound off.

How's that wrong?
Click to expand...

Agree as well. They got the switch right. I don't know what the settings say, but when I pull down on the switch, the sound goes off or the rotation gets locked and vice versa. That's how it should be
 
Luckily, the iPad can be used in any orientation. Just hold it upside down. Problem solved. :rolleyes:

EDIT: You people that down ranked me, you do know that this was a joke, right?
 
Last edited:
Pigumon said:
Go to settings. In Apple's own words- Lock Rotation and Mute.

Up = Lock Off. Down = Lock On.

or

Up= Mute Off. Down = Mute On.

That's how it's wrong. :cool:

I really wish they had worded it your way, because now it's stuck in my head the (wrong) Apple way.
Click to expand...

Arguing semantics, although entertaining moreover sounds like complaining.
 
this is a joke thread, right?
Your OCD hastaken a turn for the melodramatic really badly here. I feel like I've just read an entry of a thirteen year old girl's diary: "MOST unintuitive iPad feature in the HISTORY of Apple!!!!!"

Really guy?

Have you or your "friends" never in the history of time operated an iPod? Or an iPhone? the same switch is on all of them for ****s sake.

you're reading way too much into what Apple says it does rather than how it actually functions.

Up - bells and whistles ON, just like when you throw a switch.

Down - bells and whistles OFF. Just like throwing a switch.


Was this really necessary?
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

In the UK, a light switch is generally off when it's up and on when it's down so it makes perfect sense to me. And, of course, Jonny Ive is British...
 
radiogoober said:
I think the switch makes perfect sense. I've never once clicked it the wrong way.
Click to expand...

Holy cr@p, I actually agree with you on something? Did I run out of meds or something?

But yes, it's a simple, 2 position switch. How you can get it wrong is just beyond me.
 
On a side note, I always kind of wished they had changed the function of the volume rocker depending on the orientation. In landscape normal, where the rocker is on the top, pressing volume down should increase the volume as its on the right and that's the direction the volume increases in the HUD.
 
I try not to think about that. If i need the lock rotation, i flip the switch. If not, i leave it like it is. I've ever really had any problem with that.
 
Down is On and Up is Off in New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom and probably most Ex Commonwealth Countries.. The US has it wrong.. :D
 
Ashka said:
Down is On and Up is Off in New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom and probably most Ex Commonwealth Countries.. The US has it wrong.. :D
Click to expand...

Of course, you are buying products from a US country, so we aren't entirely messed up. :rolleyes:


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Comeagain? said:
Of course, you are buying products from a US country, so we aren't entirely messed up. :rolleyes:


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


easy champ. don't take it personally. yes, our country is pretty jacked up...but they drive on the wrong side of the road. it all kinda evens out.
 
Phil A. said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

In the UK, a light switch is generally off when it's up and on when it's down so it makes perfect sense to me. And, of course, Jonny Ive is British...
Click to expand...

Ashka said:
Down is On and Up is Off in New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom and probably most Ex Commonwealth Countries.. The US has it wrong.. :D
Click to expand...

Wait, so the US is the backwards country? OMG! ;)

Insert "in Soviet Russia British America" joke here.
 
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