Apple has rolled out the seventh beta of iOS 11 for developers. Noted iOS developer Guilherme Rambo, who previously revealed the iPhone 8 design hidden in the HomePod firmware, continues to dig into Apple’s mobile operating system to unearth new details. He has found a couple of iOS 11 videos that shed light on how we will use gesture controls to handle features such as app switching on the 10th anniversary iPhone.
Controls in these iOS 11 videos were created before WWDC
The iPhone 8 will be Apple’s first smartphone to launch without a physical home button. It means various functions of the physical home button will go the virtual home button and new gestures. Both the iOS 11 videos feature what appears to be an iPhone 7-like device. Rambo said the files were created in May this year, right before the company unveiled the iOS 11.
It is unclear whether these gesture controls have been discarded or will be exclusive to the iPhone 8. The iOS 11 build that the tech giant showcased at WWDC did not include any iPhone 8-specific features. The first of the two iOS 11 videos shows that you can activate the app switcher by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Currently, you get to access the app switcher by double tapping on the home button or by long pressing on the left edge of the screen and swiping right.
This is also interesting pic.twitter.com/JdYDhZDkev
— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 21, 2017
Currently, swiping upward on the Home screen gives you access to the Control Center. In the iOS 11 videos, you can still access the Control Center as an app on the right side of the display. The concept hidden in iOS 11 is similar to the way the app switcher works on the iPads. Swiping upwards on the home screen of iPads gives you access to the dock. A longer swipe launches the app switcher.
The second video shows that users can access the lock screen on iOS 11 by swiping from top to bottom of the screen. You can view notifications from the lock screen. Swiping to the right after that brings up the app widgets while swiping to the left shows the Control Center. On the current beta of iOS 11, swiping to the left brings up the camera app. Rambo did not mention whether these gestures are customizable.
This is interesting ? pic.twitter.com/X4GLiMy1c5
— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 21, 2017
These features have been in the iOS 11 for a long time. Apple could either have refined them further or ditched them in favor of better controls. Assuming these gestures remain part of the public iOS 11 release, it will be interesting to see how Apple will allow us to invoke the Camera app. Hopefully, the new gestures would be available to all iPhones rather than just being iPhone 8-exclusive.
Will iPhone 8 have both the Pearl ID and Touch ID?
Rambo and Steve Troughton-Smith had previously revealed that the iPhone 8 would have a resizable virtual home button. The two developers also discovered in the HomePod firmware that the 10th anniversary iPhone would have an infrared sensor to enable facial recognition. Apple has internally named the face detection technology as Pearl ID. A recent report from the Korea Herald claims Pearl ID will be able to sense and verify a user’s face “in the millionth of a second.” It will be really fast.
If Pearl ID becomes the primary method for security, what will happen to the Touch ID fingerprint sensor? There have been contradictory reports about the technology. The Cupertino company was earlier rumored to embed the fingerprint sensor in the display. But other reports claimed the feature would be moved to the rear panel due to problems with the optical fingerprint solution. A few others suggest Apple could ditch the Touch ID technology altogether.
A newly leaked video depicts the rear-mounted Touch ID on the iPhone 8, which could disappoint many Apple fans. The clip shows an individual putting their finger on the back of the iPhone to test the fingerprint sensor. It’s difficult to say whether the video is legitimate, though. If it turns out to be accurate, it would mean that the 10th anniversary iPhone will have both the Pearl ID and Touch ID for authentication and security.
iPhone 8 3D camera module leaked
In a separate leak, folks at SlashLeaks have obtained images of what appears to be the 3D sensing module for the iPhone 8. The front-facing 3D sensors will help the iPhone 8 detect your face more accurately. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 8 front camera setup would include a camera module, an infrared transmitter, and an infrared receiver module. The front camera is rumored to support 4K video shooting at 60fps.
The 10th anniversary iPhone will have a bezel-less OLED display, a vertical dual camera system on the back, and a more powerful A11 chipset. The device will also come with wireless charging capabilities. Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang estimates that Apple would ship 35-40 million iPhone 8 units by the end of this year. Of that, 5 million could be sold in September, and 30-35 million during the fourth quarter.
