Why The Home Button Is Essential To Apple iPad 2 And iPhone 5
There’s so much talk of Apple removing the home button from the iPad 2 and iPhone 5, see our earlier report here
Many users though are unaware of what the Home button does, apart from the obvious and return you to the Home Screen. It also has some quite hidden features. Find out more below.
Double Click Trick
By double-clicking the home button on your iPad it takes you to the Adjustment screen for your iPad. From here, if you scroll back once you will then see a similar screen to the above.
From this position, you can click the first icon on the left to lock the screen orientation, so the screen doesn’t keep moving around when you rotate the iPad.
The second icon allows you to adjust the brightness of the screen. This is a much easier way of adjusting the brightness than coming out of the app you are in and going to the Settings menu, then Brightness and Wallpaper and adjusting it there.
As a point of note though if you are reading a book from the iBooks app you can further adjust the brightness of the iPad within that. From the iBook menu it is possible to adjust the brightness to a very minimal level, allowing you to read a book without disturbing others around you.
Thirdly, the double click trick allows the user to play music/podcasts from the iPod facility, and forward or reverse to the next track.
Fourthly, the volume of the iPod can be adjusted and this also doubles up as a volume adjuster for other apps that you are currently using.
Triple Click Trick
Double clicking the Home button is just one trick but did you know that by triple clicking it you can specify specific settings for other users of the same iPad. Triple clicking the Home button allows access to the Accessibility Options. From there you Turn VoiceOver On, Turn Zoom On, Turn White on Black On.
The trick is that the Triple Click allows the Accessibility Options to return to default. So if you have a user in the house that prefers to view the iPad with Black On, any of the other functions, by clicking the home screen three times allows for automatically to reset it again.
This is a fantastic option for users that share an iPad, particularly with someone with disabilities.
With both the double click and the triple click tricks the user is accessing the Settings menu of the iPad but without physically having to exit the app they are in and then adjusting the Setting, then returning to the app.
Could we really manage without the Home Button on the iPad 2 and iPhone 5?
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
One Comment
Rob
Looks like a new iPad 2 case shows a place for the home button:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/01/18/exclusive_chinese_supplier_floating_ipad_2_case_with_possible_sd_card_and_mini_displayport.html
So we probably have at least another year until the home button goes away (if ever). Apple probably wants to see if people pick up on gestures (or at least train us to use gestures) before they go and remove the home button. If you wish you iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch didn’t have a home button because your kids press it all the time, get a BubCap.com home button cover!