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Create the user interface for touch isn't an easy thing to do. At least it's not easy to do so. A large number and variety of possible gestures when four fingers and a thumb control pad hit well may cause paralysis of development and design. However, the gestures we see implemented often seems so simple and intuitive that once we do it once, we wonder how anyone coming up with it.
Apple's early success with a simple and intuitive gestures on iPhone actually worked against him in some ways, like adding gestures over complicates known accessibility in the user interface. On the other hand, this has prevented them from providing richer gestures like drawing shapes, creating spontaneous UI elements, and so on. But I doubt they ever stopped, looking into it. Some recently published patent applications, whereas questionable how patentable ideas go, chock-full of interesting ideas and promising new UI concepts.
Patent 20110197153 was found IP analyzers clearly Apple. Patent, filed in February 2011, covers a number of compound gestures which gesture is to create or call a specific UI element, and then the second action, using this element is enabled.
For example, "digging a hole". In this case, will use or "scratch" screen multiple times to create a "hole", which you can then drag and drop files, delete, hide, or what have you. The hole is expected to be complete, or second gesture can be used for this.
Another example: the opening of the portal, the trap door or window, draw a rectangle. This is a similar concept of drag and drop, but the gesture and the picture will be different, he could serve a different purpose: to create a folder or file, or add an attachment by e-mail.
More active involvement of the gesture, as described in the second patent application (20110193788) the user has to draw a circle or blob around a set of files that can then be enclosed in a bubble. The device can then be physically tipped and processed data "is poured in a second device.
I know what you think. How Apple can patent gestures that were used in games, applications, and other user interfaces (using the mouse, for example), in similar fashion, years? I should imagine that somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of games, there are for iOS, there is one where you have to dig a hole, scratches on the screen. If not at the iOS, then to 3DS, the platform is saturated with interesting user interfaces based on touch. And we even had a demo data "Lily" from one device to another to Disrupt in New York.
To be honest, I really don't know. Patent really approve "digging a hole and then dragging an item over to handle", as well as other, and it does not limit it to anything like the File Manager view or application icons. Apple seems to want to patent for digging the virtual holes and putting things in them.
There are examples of these user interface elements, returning a long time, and even with the authorization of the patent system that we have in place, I can't imagine Apple would be quite different, simply because this will be done on the touchpad. Drawing x to delete it? It is even possible that they can afford that fly? I certainly hope not.
Patent concerns aside, gestures very interesting from a user perspective. I had always favoured the rich touch interaction in tablets and were disappointed by the refusal of the creators of the tablet to things that are possible only through the touch interface. Games have made a much better job of exploring the possibilities than OS developers. It's nice to see someone goes beyond clicking and dragging. Given Apple's focus on the trackpad or touchscreen, it's always been a good bet that they will be among the first to integrate rich gestures, even if they are not even close to a first to create them.
Interestingly, the patent application uses very OS X-esque image in his tablet illustration. This should not mean anything; Patent author can just felt an explanation better served with more traditional desktop interface. But there is more than that. Control files, transferring them to the nearby devices, hiding, and deleting files and windows – this is not the things you do on Apple tablets. They're things you do in OS X.
Portal? Send window on another computer, on another "end of" tablet, perhaps where iOS lives? "Trap door"-this is a great metaphor for transfer things between two separate areas. Or is it to save things later as reading list in Safari?
How about X-ing items? Space for this in many places on the iOS-remove listed items, swiping, icons and Long pressing and raising their little boxes x. How would you do x without swiping over at another screen? Quick Flick is interpreted as directional wipes, stroke to the canvas touch. The gesture x requires one of the desktop screen, where there's dead space has not interacted with the same can be said about the "pinch" gesture, which requires a negative space on all sides of an element. There is very little space on iOS — but covered with desktop OS X.
Share files from one device to another near? Sounds familiar-oh right, it is a function of marquee lion. Creating a bubble on the device unlocked is tacit approval to transfer files, without going into any menu or by selecting network. Bubble up some files to another device, the device pair, and when you pour, it passes.
This table concept, iOS concepts. Or both? Lion to iOS interface elements like OS X, and half the population of the world thought we would be convertible, touchscreen MacBooks right now. No — Apple brings OS X tablet, although not entirely, of course. But I can imagine a second "face" for the iPad, for file management and sharing with the more familiar desktop metaphor, updated with gestures of this nature. Apple seems to be something along these lines, and there is still a good chance this patent is more than "just to be safe," a collection of interesting ideas that actually are not, you have to admit that it is compelling to think about how they can be used if they were actually executed.
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