Why don't tablets have stereo speakers for landscape orientation?

[shponglefan]

Something I've never understood about tablets is why every single tablet seems to have stereo speakers in portrait orientation.  The most practical use of speakers would be when watching a video or playing a game; and you're most likely going to be in landscape mode.  And yet every tablet I've come across has speakers such that they'll be on one side of the tablet if you rotate it to landscape.

Why do tablet makers do this?  I've never figured this out.

[dkersten]

Maybe because when you hold a tablet in landscape, you hold the sides and would block the speakers.. ?

I only use my tablet when I travel, and you can't hear the speakers on planes anyway, and in the airport or on buses and in cars you have other passengers who don't want to listen in, so I use ear buds.  I had the HTC One for about 4 years (the One then the One M7) and honestly only used the stereo speakers about 3 times. 

[shponglefan]

Maybe because when you hold a tablet in landscape, you hold the sides and would block the speakers.. ?

If the speakers were offset so they could be near the top of the side that wouldn't be an issue.

I only use my tablet when I travel, and you can't hear the speakers on planes anyway, and in the airport or on buses and in cars you have other passengers who don't want to listen in, so I use ear buds.  I had the HTC One for about 4 years (the One then the One M7) and honestly only used the stereo speakers about 3 times.

For travel obviously speakers are less useful, but for home use they would be perfect.  I'd love to have proper stereo speakers for Youtube or other videos when I'm lying on the couch.

[yotsuya]

#firstworldproblems

[Howard_Casto]

If I'm at home I'll use a pc or my tv to watch videos.  Watching them on a tablet at home doesn't make any sense... unless you are on the toilet. 

#tabletsforpooptime

[wp34]

#firstworldproblems

Every single question posed on this site is a first world problem.

[yotsuya]

#firstworldproblems

Every single question posed on this site is a first world problem.

Heh, very true!!!

[wp34]

Now if someone could tell me how to play Pinball Arcade in portrait mode using touch controls on my Surface Pro...

[shponglefan]

If I'm at home I'll use a pc or my tv to watch videos.  Watching them on a tablet at home doesn't make any sense...

Sure it does if I'm lying in bed or watching Youtube or something.  Not everything is viewable on my TV...

[Howard_Casto]

You need more tvs then.  Got one in every bedroom and they all have access to youtube.  I rarely watch youtube even on a pc anymore unless it's an instructional video or something.  Everything is in HD and you can't really take advantage of that on a tiny screen.

[CCM]

Sure it does if I'm lying in bed or watching Youtube or something.  Not everything is viewable on my TV...

Go buy a Chromecast or something similar.

[shponglefan]

You need more tvs then.

I don't want more TVs.  Too big and clunky.  Proper stereo speakers on a tablet seems an easier ask.

[Mike A]

You don't carry the TV's around. You mount them to the wall.

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah seriously man.  I've never heard anyone argue that it's better to watch stuff on a puny 7 inch screen than 42" plus.  Especially considering how ridiculously cheap they are these days. 

My point, which seems to be lost, is that tablets are for watching videos in a pinch, so they aren't going to be optimized anyway.  For most people you are going to be using a tablet for viewing in public, in which case you'll have headphones on.  Speakers on a tablet are more of a courtesy than anything else. 

[shponglefan]

Everyone here is missing the point.  It's not about which format offers a superior viewing experience (TV vs tablet).  Along that reasoning I could argue that a 120 inch screens w/ high def projectors and 7.1 surround sound is even better still.  But I'm hardly going to wire up ceiling mount projectors and speakers in every room in my house.

It's simply a question of tablets as media consumption devices: if people generally use them in landscape mode for things like videos, how come they don't they have speakers oriented for stereo sound in landscape mode.  That's all.

Now if it's a question of tablet makers just not being bothered or there is some sort of demand for stereo speakers in portrait mode, then so be it.  I'm just curious is all.

[Mike A]

A tablet is too small for good stereo separation anyways. Just wear headphones.

[Grasshopper]

Unfortunately, the position of the speakers is not the only issue with tablets. The overwhelming majority of them suffer from inexplicably poor design decisions.

For example, here are some more 'first world problems':

- Why do most tablets come with only a single USB port that also has to double up as a charging connector? It means you can't charge and use USB simultaneously without buying a clunky special adapter cable (assuming it's even possible as all). How ridiculous is that?

- Why do most tablets come with flimsy micro connectors (USB and HDMI) instead of far sturdier full size ones? I mean seriously, the difference in size is only a few mm, so the space saving is insignificant. Admittedly, there are a handful of Windows tablets that come fitted with full sized connectors (and they're no thicker than other tablets) but they're the exception to the rule.

- Why are so many tablets (and phones) potentially brickable? This is just sloppy firmware design. It shouldn't be possible to brick a device using software alone. It's perfectly easy to make part of the firmware read-only in hardware, and then include in the read-only section some code that can use a recovery media to restore the tablet back to a factory state.

- Why is the onboard flash memory generally soldered onto the circuit board instead of being stored on a removable SD card? That would make backing up the firmware far easier, and would be one way to fix the bricking issue.

[knave]

I can't speak for other tablets, but the Surface pro Gen 1 that I picked up recently has stereo Speakers at the top left and right in Landscape mode. I think My dell Streak 7 from 2011 also has them that way. Granted on both of these tablets the speakers are merely adequate. So tablets with that feature are out there.

As for media consumption at home on a tablet vs. on a TV. I use both. Sometimes, I don't want to disturb others, or want to check out a video real quick, or am reading/checking email in bed and just want to check something out...sometimes I just like having the screen right there in front of me. Headphones are superior most of the time...sometimes I want my ears unencumbered. The speakers work fine...but the phones are more immersive.

Also if the video in question contains screen images from the content creators computer it is way easier to read text when watching these videos on a tablet vs. TV.

[yotsuya]

You turn off the sound when you watch the porn in the bathroom anyway....

Or is that just me?

[pbj]

Speakers on my iPad are actually amazing given how thin the device is...

 

[RayB]

A tablet is too small for good stereo separation anyways. Just wear headphones.

That's complete ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow---. Have you ever played a game on a Nintendo DS? The audio is amazing on that thing, in stereo! We're talking 12 year old technology and tiny little speakers.

I've always wondered the same thing as OP. In fact I've sent emails years ago to Apple telling them to do it.

The problem as I see it, other than hardware real-estate is that we've become accustomed to holding our devices in any orientation. That means that there's no such thing as "left" and "right" speakers. It would have to change depending on how you hold the device. The audio signals would have to get re-routed whenever the orientation changes. I imagine that might introduce audible clicks or static. Who knows. And you'd ideally need 4 speakers in order to maintain perfectly aligned stereo (one in each corner). But in my emails to Apple I outlined how they could do it with only 2 speakers (one in one corner, and one in the opposite corner). In these positions, you always have a speaker that's "to the right" and one "to the left" regardless of screen orientation. They would still have to switch audio signal routing when the orientation changed and maybe diagonally positioned speakers makes for crappy stereo? Maybe but I would bet it's better than mono.

Anyways, all this to say that Apple finally implemented multiple speakers in the iPad Pro.

[vwalbridge]

In fact I've sent emails years ago to Apple telling them to do it.

I'm guessing they never wrote you back?

[yotsuya]

In fact I've sent emails years ago to Apple telling them to do it.

I'm guessing they never wrote you back?

I'm sure they have a special file on him.

[pbj]

Top men.

Top.

Men.

[Mike A]

Optimal stereo separation is achieved with 2 speakers. They need to be spaced out at a distance larger than your head. If you think DS stereo is "amazing" you must have a really small head.

[Loafmeister]

Apple's Ipad Pro has stereo output out of it's 4 speakers in landscape mode.  Some games sound outstanding (horizon Chase being a huge win here)

[Mike A]

Put on some good headphones. That will give you true stereo separation. It is similar to surround sound. You can't replicate it without proper distances between speakers. Companies try all the time.

[ark_ader]

Both my Samsung Tab 1.0 and Tab Note have stereo speakers on each side.  My Sony Xperiz Z10 has 4 stereo speakers on the landscape side.  Maybe next time, you will spring for a more expensive tablet than the $50 RCA crap. 

[RayB]

Optimal stereo separation is achieved with 2 speakers. They need to be spaced out at a distance larger than your head. If you think DS stereo is "amazing" you must have a really small head.

Context is everything. 

[Mike A]

 

[vwalbridge]

How come they don't they have speakers oriented for stereo sound in landscape mode?

3 Reasons:

1. Manufacturing cost
2. Lack of space
3. 99% of users don't care

Never underestimate the power of "good enough". If a person can hear their tablet make sound when they play a video...then it's "good enough"