Re: Orientation for mobile apps (smartphone vs. tablet)

On 04/06/2020 18:19, Monica Dinehart wrote:

> There has been some back and forth conversation regarding what is 
> essential, as well as the development team checking other apps that they 
> use personally and seeing that not all apps allow for both orientations.

And those apps would also fail the SC. "Those folks don't do it either" 
is not a solid exemption for not following an SC.

> The development team seems interested in making changes though they seem 
> to be looking at this from the perspective of a smartphone vs. tablet. 
> Their latest exchange with me is:
> 
> /Presume we need to change the app to support landscape mode. What if it 
> was already done on tablets (various Android tablets and iPad). Does 
> that satisfy the requirement? In other words, the phone would be 
> portrait-mode only but if someone wanted it in landscape-mode they could 
> use a tablet - same functionality, same everything, just on a tablet. /

So if a user needs to have (for whatever reason) their device in one 
orientation, the excuse is "they should just get another device to do 
it"? Not the best of approaches I'd say...and no, not a way to say that 
the SC is satisfied.

> My initial response was that based on the W3C's definition of mobile 
> there is not a distinction between a smartphone or a tablet that would 
> allow you to orient in both landscape and portrait for one but not the 
> other. In my mind, this approach actually highlights the fact that there 
> is no essential use/function as to why the application cannot 
> accommodate both orientations.
> 
> I am looking for thoughts on this development team's approach as well as 
> suggestions on what has worked for others when taking orientation into 
> consideration for mobile applications.

The "essential" escape route of that SC is dubious as it is, to be 
honest. The classic examples of "the app shows a full piano keyboard, so 
needs to be locked to landscape mode as it wouldn't fit - comfortably - 
in portrait mode" appears logical at first as an exception...but then, 
there are ways to allow for piano keys to be used correctly even in 
portrait - for instance, by splitting up the piano keys into two 
separate stacked rows, or having only a single octave shown but with 
up/down controls to change the octave (as is the case on small physical 
midi keyboards).

In any case, as a development team, I'd make sure there's a fairly solid 
rationale for claiming that something is "essential" (that doesn't 
simply come off as "it'd be a lot of extra work").

P
-- 
Patrick H. Lauke

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Received on Thursday, 11 June 2020 10:44:40 UTC