I actually like the way Apple is doing these things. There is almost always a way to achieve the same things using established patterns, that takes slightly longer and is a little less convenient. It's not like you can't use an iPhone without knowing about these little "shortcuts". Admittedly, most users won't discover these hacks, because of poor discoverability. They could add a ton of UI like dedicated buttons for all these hidden gestures, even label them to make it more obvious what they do. The downside is, that the UI would quickly become a complete mess. Another way would be to have the user sit through a tedious tutorial upon opening the app for the first time and then remind them from time to time how to do things. This gets annoying really fast. The real alternative Apple would choose however is to simply omit these little features and "streamline" their apps. Because they aren't core the usability of the phone, I consider them welcome extras, which means I'm delighted every time I learn a new one rather than bummed out about the ones I don't know about.