Gestures

Apple Proposes a Brand New Kind of iOS Interface

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 19, 2018

Apple has filed an interesting patent with the US Patent & Trademark Office that details a revolutionary type of interface. The filing also contains a new social networking application for iOS. While we tend to stay away from boring patent filings on iDB, this particular one caught our eye with it's unusual details.

A new way of managing data like webpages, music, and photos, has been outlined in an interface that Apple calls "Persistent Overlay." The interface takes several elements from Notification Center and the multitasking bar, builds upon them, and expands them as a means to manage data on a systemwide level. We may have just got our first glimpse at iOS 6...

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Patent Suggests More Touch Gestures Coming to iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

Patent applications are published every day by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but perhaps none of them are more interesting than those from Apple. The filings give us a glimpse inside the company's notoriously-private research and development labs.

PatentlyApple reports today that another batch of applications has just surfaced on the USTPO site bearing Apple's name. While most of the inventions look intriguing, there's one in particular that stands out above the others. And it involves powerful, new touch gestures...

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Patent Shows Apple’s Interest in 3D Gesture Controls

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple has spent the last several years revolutionizing the way we interact with our mobile gadgets. Sure, there were touchscreen devices before the iPhone. But none of them worked as well Apple's handset. And the same can be said about Siri and voice control.

It appears that Apple isn't going to settle for just touch and voice controls. A new patent application has surfaced that reveals that the Cupertino company is experimenting with non-touch gesture controls for its iOS devices. And here's how it would work...

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Gesturizer: Launch Apps and Actions Using Gestures

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 19, 2011

Is your selection of Activator gestures wearing a little thin? Looking to add an infinite amount of app-launching gestures to your jailbroken iPhone?

If that sounds all too familiar, then Gesturizer could be just what you need. This jailbreak tweak allows you to launch apps and perform actions, using custom hand-drawn gestures. Check out our full video demonstration inside...

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StyleUnlock: Use Multitouch Gestures to Unlock Your iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 18, 2011

There's been no shortage of jailbreak tweaks that allow you to unlock you iPhone in some unique way, but StyleUnlock claims to take the cake when it comes to the stylishness that will ooze from your fingers upon swiping you lockscreen.

StyleUnlock is a tweak that focuses solely on its primary function — unlocking your iPhone from the lockscreen using multitouch gestures.

In total, there are over a dozen gestures for you to master, and the following video walkthrough showcases a few of them in action...

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‘LockGestures’ Adds Multitouch Gestures to Your Lockscreen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 11, 2011

"Soon we'll need a lockscreen for our lockscreen," states a comment on our YouTube video for LockGestures. Frankly, I couldn't have said it better myself.

LockGestures is a jailbreak tweak for the iPhone and/or iPad that takes the "lock" out of the lockscreen. It's a tweak that adds a plethora of multi-touch gestures right on the area that used to be solely reserved for unlocking your device.

Now, you can do everything on the lockscreen — launch apps, adjust power options, even make a sandwich. Okay, so I'm just kidding about the sandwich part, but you get the idea. Check inside to see the full scope of LockGestures in high definition video glory...

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Patent Suggests New ‘File Sharing Gestures’ Coming to iOS

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

Apple is known for registering patents for everything they think of, just in case it becomes useful, or indeed feasible, at a later date.

A new patent to come out of Cupertuno suggests the company is working on a new way of sharing files between devices, similar to the way HP's new TouchPad and accompanying smartphones do.

The HP way involves touching the two devices together in order to initiate the connection and subsequent transfer of files and data. If that sounds familiar, it's because the whole process is very similar to contact sharing app, Bump.

What Apple's patent suggests, is a more metaphorical way of establishing the connection...

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New Multitouch Gestures Indicate No Buttons on Future iPads

Guest Author ∙ January 13, 2011

Apple has recently seeded to its developers iOS 4.3 and there is plenty to read in between the lines with this latest version. The biggest change is the additional gestures for users to enjoy.

You will soon be able to pinch-out with four or five fingers in order to get back to the home screen. In addition, you will be able to swipe up with four or five fingers to display the fast-switching app bar, no matter what app you are in. A simple swipe down with just as many fingers will hide the app switcher.

Also, to perform multitasking fast app switching, you can swipe to the left or right, again with four or five fingers, to quickly switch from other apps running in the background. This addition alone is going to be the most beneficial.

I for one have had so much trouble double-clicking that home button to bring up the fast-switching app bar. Sometimes I click too slow and it just takes me to the home screen. Or sometimes I click too fast and the device only registers one click, thus taking me again to the home screen.

I also really like the actual multitasking gesture of swiping through all the open apps. This is as if all the apps are running side by side and your iPad is merely a window into one of them. Such a cool concept!

Check out the video above for a demonstration of these new gestures.

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