Usually, I try to cater Android Police’s weekend poll towards something newsy — sometimes, it even turns into a quasi-editorial. But as we continue to skyrocketing towards a barrage of new Google hardware, including its first folding phone and the first Pixel-branded tablet in nearly half a decade, I figured it’s as good a time as any to take a breather with a simple question: do you leave auto-rotate enabled on your phone?
As the phones editor, I’m constantly swapping between devices — I fear our eSIM-focused future more than anyone — and unfortunately, that means I don’t always have the same preferences set on every piece of hardware near me. Sometimes, it’s as simple as having to log back into an app on a new phone, but other times, it leaves me embarrassingly dumbfounded, staring at my phone for several seconds while I wait for it to “do something.”
Auto-rotate fits into that latter category. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve picked up my current daily driver, selected a video on YouTube, and rotated the phone in my hand, only to find myself watching at a 90-degree angle. The force rotate feature can help here, but even then, I always feel just a little silly when a smartphone doesn’t do the thing I expect. And here, I suppose I’m outing myself as pro-rotation — what can I say, I find it useful.
But enough about me; I’m curious about our readership’s take on this. We asked this very question three years ago, and the results were fairly surprising. Although “locked in portrait mode” did come out on top, it did so with just 45% of the vote. Auto-rotate and relying on the quick settings toggle as necessary were in a not-so-distant second and third place, and together, actually trounced those stuck in portrait.
This time around, I’m also adding an answer for those who rely on that magic force rotate button in the bottom of your screen. It’s a handy tool, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes out on top in this matchup. Anything’s possible, of course. Let me know in the comments below if you have strong feelings about auto-rotate on phones — I have a feeling plenty of people will want to argue their case.
