September 25, 2009

Mobile Devices: Changing Screen Orientation While Walking

Has your iPhone ever changed its screen’s orientation while you were walking, even though you didn’t actually turn the device? Ever since upgrading to 3.0, it happens to me all the time. It never happened with earlier versions of the iPhone’s operating system.

In earlier versions, Apple temporarily turned off screen orientation changes when the iPhone detected that it was moving. With the most recent updates, Apple has removed or toned down this feature. Check out this movie:

Left/Bottom: iPod running 2.2.1. Middle: Android device. Right/Top: iPhone running 3.1.

As you can see, the iPod running the old version of the operating system refuses to change screen orientation while it is still moving. It won’t accidentally change its screen orientation while you are walking. The other two devices will happily change screen orientation.

And just to prove that the devices behave the same when there is no shaking involved:

I have no idea why Apple changed this, but I liked the old behavior much better.

If you require a short url to link to this article, please use http://ignco.de/186

designed_for_use_small

If you liked this, you'll love my book. It's called Designed for Use: Create Usable Interfaces for Applications and the Web. In it, I cover the whole design process, from user research and sketching to usability tests and A/B testing. But I don't just explain techniques, I also talk about concepts like discoverability, when and how to use animations, what we can learn from video games, and much more.

You can find out more about it (and order it directly, printed or as a DRM-free ebook) on the Pragmatic Programmers website.