I assumed that issues like "tap eight times for a no-op" not working was because of software patents not allowing the developer to do the obvious thing. Is that not the case?
I don't have any specifics, but based on experience, it feels like software giants like to patent what a lot of people would consider obvious wins (such as interruptible animations) if no other company happens to be doing it, and it felt like this would be something where that could be the case.
That said, I can't seem to find any evidence of this particular thing being patented to support my case, so it's probable that I'm wrong.