Apple has been testing multitouch gestures for quite a while, and we reported in January that this will likely lead to Apple ultimately ditching the home button on future iPad and iPhone devices. The feature, which simplifies certain tasks such as app switching, still isn’t available to the general public. But as it turns out, anyone can enable multitouch gestures on the iPad or iPad 2 with just a few minutes and $5. As pointed out by Gizmodo, users can simply purchase Apple’s iOS developer software Xcode 4 — available for $5 from the Mac App Store — and enable the nifty feature with a single click. Once enabled, users will be able to use a four-finger swipe from side to side in order to switch open apps, swipe up with four fingers to open the app switcher, and use a five-finger pinch to return to the home screen. Hit the break for the simple instructions.

Before following the steps below, ensure your iPad is updated to iOS 4.3.

Purchase Xcode 4 from the Mac App Store [iTunes link] (UPDATE: You can also download the older version of Xcode (v3.2) for free) Launch Xcode and connect your iPad or iPad 2 to your computer Click the “use for development” button Ignore Xcode’s request for developer credentials and disregard the ensuing error Once developer mode is activated, you can enable gestures from within Settings > General on your iPad

[Via Gizmodo]

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