12 Slide-to-Unlock

It only took a few years, but the battle between Apple and Samsung over slide-to-unlock wrote its final chapter in the fall of last year. The lawsuit resulted in $120 million for Apple. With the introduction of biometric options—such as Touch ID and Face ID—sliding-to-unlock isn’t as widely used as it used to be. In years past, sliding to the right would take the user to the home screen (after entering a passcode if enabled).

The slide-to-unlock patent covers more than just swiping right. In fact it applies to any “[predefined] gestures performed on the touch-sensitive display” to unlock a device. The patent also covers any “visual cues” used to remind the user of a gesture.