Master the Multitouch Gestures for iPad

Multitouch gestures are one of the best hidden features of iOS on the iPad, but a surprising amount of iPad users don't seem to use them. Perhaps it's because you just don't know about them, or maybe you haven't spent the time to learn what they are and why they're useful. Take a few minutes to learn the gestures and you'll be doing more with the iPad or iPad mini in no time, because they offer are the fastest way to close apps, get to the home screen, and switch between apps running in iOS.

Enable the Multitouch (Multitasking) Gestures for iPad

First things first, let's be sure the multitouch gestures are enabled. These are usually turned on by default in the newer versions of iOS but it's easy to check:

• Open Settings app and tap on "General"
• Scroll down to find "Multitasking Gestures" and flip to ON

With the multitasking gestures turned on, you can now use four or five fingers to perform various tasks that will greatly improve the iPads usability.

Here are the four multitouch gestures you should be using right now:

The red arrows indicate finger position and movements, you can use either four or five fingers in any example.

1: Close Apps and Return to the Home Screen with a Pinch

Use a four or five fingered pinching motion to close the current app, sending you back to the iPad home screen. This one is so useful it will likely be the most frequently used of the group.

2: Reveal the Multitasking App Bar with a Swipe Up

Use a four or five fingered vertical swipe up to open the multitasking app bar. This is the same multitasking bar you see when double-clicking the Home button, and it lets you quickly switch between apps, access brightness controls, play music, and more. Repeating the swipe down closes the multitask bar again.

3: Switch Apps by Swiping Horizontally

Using a four or five fingered horizontal swipe will cycle through open apps. Try swiping from right to left, since most likely you're in the 'last' app. If you're on the 'end' of the app list (as determined by the multitask bar), you will see a stretch animation and the currently active window will bounce back into place, rather than switching apps.

4: Quit Multiple Apps at Once with Four Fingered Taps

If you need to close multiple apps at the same time, use the upward swipe to reveal the multitask bar, then tap and hold on any icon until they start to jiggle and reveal the red (-) close button. Now use multiple fingers to tap the red close buttons simultaneously to quit multiple apps at the same time. This isn't an 'official' multitouch or multitask gesture, but it's one we have discovered and it works so well that it's worth including in this list. Also, this is the only iOS gesture listed here that works on the iPhone and iPod touch too.

I don't have the gestures on my iPad, why not?
If the Multitasking Gestures are not an option for you in Settings, it's probably because you're on an older iPad or older version of iOS. iPads running iOS versions before 5.0 will not have the multitouch gesture available to them.

Got a Mac too? Don't miss this list of multitouch gestures available in OS X for a variety of apps, they'll work with any Mac that has a trackpad or Magic Mouse.

What the 5-Inch iPhone Could Look Like [iOS Blog]

Earlier this week, China Times published a rumor that Apple could release an "iPhone Math", a larger iPhone with a 4.8" screen that could compete with "phablets" like the Samsung Galaxy Note. Though the name is particularly suspect, it's possible that Apple would want to get into that product category. Samsung has had some success in the area, and similar products were popular at CES this year.

Russian site AppleDigger.ru has created a mockup of what such an iPhone could look like [Google Translate]. One significant part that the video gets incorrect is that the original rumor claimed the larger phone will come with an 8-megapixel camera, whilst the video says it will have a 12-megapixel camera. Instead, an update to the iPhone is said to come before the holiday season this year, upgrading the lens to 12-megapixels.


Considering the sketchiness of the "iPhone Math" rumor and the lack of any specific claims about how Apple would handle the larger display in iOS, the mockup video should primarily be viewed as a concept giving a general idea of what such a device might look like.

Samsung Retakes Title of World's Largest Semiconductor Customer from Apple in 2012

Research firm Gartner today shared its estimates of global semiconductor purchases for 2012, finding that Samsung has retaken the title Apple had gained in 2011 when it leapt over both Samsung and HP. Samsung (28.9% growth) and Apple (13.6% growth) registered as the biggest winners in 2012, as the overall market declined by 3% with Sony (1.9%) and Lenovo (0.3%) being the only other top-ten companies showing positive performance.

"Although Samsung and Apple continue to go from strength to strength, other leading electronic equipment makers fared less well, and six of the top 10 reduced their demand in 2012," said Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner. "In addition to a weak macroeconomic situation, a dramatic change in consumer demand contributed to a reduction in semiconductor demand in 2012.

Yamaji pointed to the strong shift to mobile devices as a primary reason for the overall decline in the semiconductor market, with traditional computers that require significantly higher semiconductor content experiencing relatively poor sales in the face of smartphone and tablet popularity.


Top Ten 2012 Semiconductor Customers (Billions of Dollars)
Samsung and Apple together now account for over 15% of the world's semiconductor market, up from roughly 12% in 2011.

Gartner's numbers measure the total silicon content of all products designed by Apple and each of its competitors, a metric known as Design TAM. This is distinct from Purchasing TAM, which would attribute to a given company only the amount actually purchased by the company. As an example of the difference between the two metrics, semiconductors purchased by a third-party manufacturing partner would generally count toward the primary company's Design TAM but not its Purchasing TAM.