What is this symbol?

[ALMF]

Just showed up and do not know what it is. 411 please
Lock with clockwise arrow around it

 

[KSean]

Rotation lock. You can turn it off by double tapping the home button, swiping to the right (hence moving the bar left) and hitting the rotation icon.

 

[ALMF]

Guess I locked it by accident. Thank you very much

 

[dictoresno]

i still never understand how people manage to find themselves into the multitasking menu, slide left and tap rotation lock then cant figure out how to turn it off. its gotta be the #1 icon that confuses everyone and i still cant understand how people arent aware of it yet lol.

 

[takeshi74]

It's because you underestimate people. You think it's foolproof but it's not as evidenced here. People manage to do all sorts of things by accident -- myself included.

 

[eyoungren]

What I'll never understand is why Apple included the rotation lock, or at least the ability to turn it on or off.

Except for Safari, which stock apps on the iPhone rotate when the lock is off? The Springboard doesn't rotate either no matter the setting. You need a JB tweak for that.

Unless anyone can point me to another use that it has (other than controlling third party apps and Safari) it seems like a useless "feature" to me.

 

[Applejuiced]

What about this one?

 

[Interstella5555]

What about this one?
Image

The iOS formally known as 6.0?

 

[Small White Car]

it seems like a useless "feature" to me.

Well, it sure comes in handy for:

Safari
Music
Messages
Maps
Most RSS apps
Photos
Calculator
Any of the 'Flash Drive' apps with text documents in them
Dropbox
Webcomics
Galcon



But then again you DID say

Unless anyone can point me to another use that it has (other than controlling third party apps and Safari)

So I guess you knew all this.

So I'm forced to ask, if you know how people use it, why are you asking why people use it?

 

[chumawumba]

You must be trolling.

 

[eyoungren]

Well, it sure comes in handy for:

Safari

I hate Safari in all of it's forms, so I don't use it except when I have to. For iOS, I use Dolphin. The Rotation Lock works the same for Dolphin as for Safari.

Music

Don't use Music, iTunes or the Music app. If I use my iPhone for music it's to stream it down from Google Play using gMusic. Or I use my iPod.

Messages

I'm using BiteSMS, so this doesn't apply

Maps

Don't use this either (Don't travel much and I'm usually at home, work, or Starbucks).

Most RSS apps

Third party, don't use either.

Photos

Didn't realize it worked here. Thanks.

Calculator

Same as above, again thanks.

Any of the 'Flash Drive' apps with text documents in them
Dropbox
Webcomics
Galcon

I knew it worked in Dropbox, but I don't use the other two (no idea what they are).

So I guess you knew all this.

No, I didn't. And since I don't seem to use much of what everyone else does, (which I now know) this isn't something that really applied to me except for a few apps. Now that I am aware of what else is can apply to I have to retract my statement and just say I don't really use it personally.

So I'm forced to ask, if you know how people use it, why are you asking why people use it?

Sorry, I was asking from the standpoint of "If it's not used very much, why is it included." That was coming from a biased viewpoint (my own).

----------

You must be trolling.

If you mean me, no. I might look like a troll (maybe) but trolling isn't what I'm doing here.

 

[Namji]

I find it useful for Pictures on landscape mode, Youtube and other videos..

 

[Bear]

What I'll never understand is why Apple included the rotation lock, or at least the ability to turn it on or off.

Except for Safari, which stock apps on the iPhone rotate when the lock is off? The Springboard doesn't rotate either no matter the setting. You need a JB tweak for that.

Unless anyone can point me to another use that it has (other than controlling third party apps and Safari) it seems like a useless "feature" to me.

iBooks is a big one to use the rotation lock for. You don't want your book rotating because you've shifted how you're sitting. I like it locked din portrait mode for that.

But I don't always want the rotation locked because I do like Safari for instance to use landscape mode.

 

[eyoungren]

iBooks is a big one to use the rotation lock for. You don't want your book rotating because you've shifted how you're sitting. I like it locked din portrait mode for that.

But I don't always want the rotation locked because I do like Safari for instance to use landscape mode.

Cool, thanks. Didn't know it worked on iBooks either.