When it comes to apps rotating to support the different orientations of the device, then there is definitely split opinion on what the default behavior should be. A lot of users seem to think that all iOS apps should seamlessly rotate to support the device being put into different positions, whereas a subset of iOS device owners are perfectly happy to work in portrait mode. While opinions may differ on the right way to do things with third-party apps, it seems that most users are perplexed about why certain native apps that ship with iOS don’t offer any rotation support whatsoever.
Having the ability to rotate an app shouldn’t offer any additional features, but it does present a different usability option to those who prefer landscape mode. Developer Daniel Taub obviously agrees with the those who think that native apps should rotate to suit the users’ needs and has released his Settings Rotator package that allows users to access the native Settings app in any manner they see fit.
It may not seem like an earth-shattering tweak, but it definitely gives an additional option to those who instinctively put the device into landscape mode to use it, only to find that the app doesn’t rotate as expected. Unfortunately for users, it doesn’t offer orientation support for additional apps that don’t come with it out of the box, but it should certainly appease a certain amount of device owners who make regular use of the Settings app.
The package may be minimal in terms of functionality, but it does open the way for discussion about the way how iOS actually operates against the perceived user belief of how it should work. Tweaks like SBRotator on Cydia have proven to be extremely successful with jailbroken users, something that definitely proves there is a desire for Apple to introduce orientation support in future versions of the firmware. It’s highly unlikely that Apple will answer those calls, but for now we can be appeased by the release of Settings Rotator.
Settings Rotator is available as a free of charge download from the BigBoss repository with no specific iOS version requirements being given.
Be sure to check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone and iPad.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.
