Is it reliable to retrieve the current interface orientation if no status bar is visible?

Question

If you have no status bar is it still safe to check the orientation like this?

_orientation = [[UIApplication sharedApplication] statusBarOrientation];

Answer 1

Yes. The status bar is always there, it is just hidden or showing. It's orientation still changes regardless of its visibility status, so that it is ready if you decide to unhide it and it doesn't need to rotate when you do.