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Video of app switching gesture for Touch ID-less iPhone 8 found within iOS 11 beta

Developer Guilherme Rambo has been on a roll over the last month, uncovering a host of new details about Apple’s upcoming devices. Tonight, he’s shared a video found in the iOS 11 beta that could give us a look at how the app switcher may work on the iPhone 8 without Touch ID/a physical Home button.

Rambo shared two videos he discovered deep within the iOS 11 beta. The first video doesn’t seem too interesting at first glance, except that sliding from right to left on the Lock screen invokes Control Center instead of the camera. And if the Control Center gesture had to be changed…what took its place?

The second video answers that question as it demonstrates using the app switcher with a swipe up gesture – the one that is currently used for Control Center. Presumably, this could be how the iPhone 8 will access the app switcher without Touch ID/a physical Home button.

Rambo mentions that even though he just discovered these videos now, they have been present in the iOS 11 betas since May and they could just be early software prototypes. These may not be the final gestures that Apple will land on for a Touch ID-less iPhone 8, but then again, they make a lot of sense.

If this does come to pass, many will be excited to see this feature arrive with the new iPhone as it’s a lot  like one of the most popular jailbreak tweaks from years past, Zephyr. Apple also frustrated some users and developers when it removed the lesser known 3D Touch app switching gesture in iOS 11 in June.

Steven Troughton-Smith has shared his thoughts on the the find. While he says it could be an abandoned feature, he also says “IMO, w/ a gesture area at bottom of the iPhone 8, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Control Center moved elsewhere to allow for system gestures.”

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