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legareal

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 15, 2016
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Does anyone know if the Pro Display XDR's autorotate (switching MacOS' software rotation) will work with a vesa mounted stand? Or if it is a feature enabled only by the Pro Stand?
 
no, you can't rotate it with the vesa mount, if I understand this correctly on the product page
 
Well it can rotate, that just depends on the mounted stand. For example my arm can rotate. I’m just wondering if it will detect its orientation using some kind of gyroscope and rotate the software. Has anyone tried this?
 
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Hi,
I tried this just now. XDR on Humanscale M2 and Autorotate feature work Perfect. If you rotate the screen it will automatically adjust.
 
Thank you so much! That’s great news, ability to resist ordering the XDR is fading 😅
 
Yeah, rotation is built into the display using an accelerometer. It’s not a function of the stand.
 
Well it can rotate, that just depends on the mounted stand. For example my arm can rotate. I’m just wondering if it will detect its orientation using some kind of gyroscope and rotate the software. Has anyone tried this?

ok, it will rotate if the arm has rotation?
but the mount does it not?
 
I don't quite get the urge of rotating the XDR. I have a few on their stand, so rotating them is an option: I've only ever rotated one of them, just to figure out how it works, and how risky it is to disconnect them from their stand while doing so (it's the same "button" you need to slide to allow rotating as well as to allow disconnecting from the stand.)
It's a really large monitor and when rotated, it's simply way too tall that way to be usable as a monitor that way IMHO. The need to look up and down will hurt your neck long before the day is over.
 
The vertical orientation is primarily aimed at pro photographers who shoot vertically. Nowadays with pro digital cameras, the photographer can shoot/set up the shot while the client views it on a monitor. The vertical orientation is perfect for this
 
I don't quite get the urge of rotating the XDR. I have a few on their stand, so rotating them is an option: I've only ever rotated one of them, just to figure out how it works, and how risky it is to disconnect them from their stand while doing so (it's the same "button" you need to slide to allow rotating as well as to allow disconnecting from the stand.)
It's a really large monitor and when rotated, it's simply way too tall that way to be usable as a monitor that way IMHO. The need to look up and down will hurt your neck long before the day is over.


I LOVE using one of my XDR's in vertical orientation. If on a monitor arm, you can bring the bottom edge all the way down to desk level, which gives it the perfect height for a great full screen view without much need to bend your neck.

I use it for all sorts of tasks ranging from web development, data analysis, and even simple things like email. Having the vertical real estate is absolutely fantastic. I find myself using the vertical one more than the Landscape one!
 
Is this the same as what has been called "portrait mode" for decades? (As opposed to "landscape mode".)

Absolutely. In fact, in the old times, circa 1989, Apple themselves had the Macintosh Portrait Display, which was similar to the better known Radius Full Page Display released a year earlier.

display_portrait.jpg
 
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As a programmer: I have two XDRs; both spend most of their time in portrait. Study after study has directly linked programmers' productivity to the amount of source-code they can simultaneously fit on-screen; and (modulo font-size, text columns, etceteras), portrait displays often fit more code from the same file(s).

Relatedly: It helps if you have a dual-level desk, where the front / keyboard portion can be adjusted to be higher than the rear / display portion:

683db204a5ca385a3b4f5dcc798c4cd9.jpg


In my setup, the bottom of the XDRs (when rotated into portrait) are actually slightly *below* the level of my mouse and other desk accessories. Instead of absurd neck-extension to look "up" at the top of the display, I have approximately equal "up" and "down" neck-movements.

As for the OP: yep! autorotation is an absolute beaut. I went to a lot of trouble to set up my arms to provide finger-touch, free rotation and movement for my displays, so that I can apply any of these layouts almost instantly:

Code:
———
—|—
—||
|||

FWIW, if any of you are trying to do this *without* a $6,000 monitor … I use this $1.99, excellent, single-purpose utility for my non-Apple displays: RotateIt, by Borys Pierov.
 
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As a programmer: I have two XDRs; both spend most of their time in portrait. Study after study has directly linked programmers' productivity to the amount of source-code they can simultaneously fit on-screen; and (modulo font-size, text columns, etceteras), portrait displays often fit more code from the same file(s).

Relatedly: It helps if you have a dual-level desk, where the front / keyboard portion can be adjusted to be higher than the rear / display portion:

View attachment 897314

In my setup, the bottom of the XDRs (when rotated into portrait) are actually slightly *below* the level of my mouse and other desk accessories. Instead of absurd neck-extension to look "up" at the top of the display, I have approximately equal "up" and "down" neck-movements.

As for the OP: yep! autorotation is an absolute beaut. I went to a lot of trouble to set up my arms to provide finger-touch, free rotation and movement for my displays, so that I can apply any of these layouts almost instantly:

Code:
———
—|—
—||
|||

FWIW, if any of you are trying to do this *without* a $6,000 monitor … I use this $1.99, excellent, single-purpose utility for my non-Apple displays: RotateIt, by Borys Pierov.

Most excellent! Any pics of your setup? What desk is that?
 
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