Early iOS 11 Videos Appear to Depict Prototype Control Center and App Switcher Gestures

A pair of videos that appear to depict prototype iOS 11 features have been found "deep within the iOS 11 beta image" by developer Guilherme Rambo, who has recently become known for digging deep into iOS code to suss out upcoming features.

According to Rambo, the files were created in May, suggesting they depict iOS 11 iPhone functionality that was scrapped rather than functionality that has not yet been implemented, but there's technically no way to tell.

In the first 13 second video, the Lock screen is demonstrated. The implementation of the Lock screen is similar the current iOS 11 implementation, but there are small changes.

This is interesting pic.twitter.com/X4GLiMy1c5

— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 21, 2017

While a swipe downwards pulls down the Lock screen cover and a swipe left opens up the widget view, a swipe right brings up the Control Center. In the current incarnation of iOS 11, a right swipe brings up the camera and not the Control Center.

The second video shows a different implementation of the App Switcher. Instead of double tapping on the Home button, the App Switcher is accessed through a swipe upwards on the Home screen, the gesture used for Control Center. Control Center remains accessible as an app at the right side of the screen, though.

This is also interesting pic.twitter.com/JdYDhZDkev

— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 21, 2017

In the current version of iOS 11, an upwards swipe on the Home screen brings up the Control center and not the App Switcher, but the video is reminiscent of the way App Switcher works on an iPad. On the iPad, an upwards swipe on the Home screen brings up the dock, while a longer swipe brings up the App Switcher with access to Control Center.

It's possible Apple originally planned to mimic the iPad App Switcher functionality on the iPhone, but later decided against it for a more familiar set of gestures. It's also possible, though, that the videos offer up a look at how iOS 11 will work once the iPhone 8 is released, since it has no Home button.

If there are any significant changes to the way iOS 11 is used on the upcoming iPhone 8, we'll know soon enough. We're expecting Apple to introduce the new iPhone in September, and if past event dates are any indication, we have just two to three weeks to wait.