iPhone developers just got their hands on brand new iPhone software from Apple, packing the first version of the company’s ‘notification service’. What does it mean? Apps can now get updates from the web, even when they’re not running.
In short, it means chat apps are about to take over the iPhone.
The new code comes within Apple’s iPhone 2.1 firmware, and lets 3rd party developers ‘push’ notifications to handsets, even when apps aren’t actually running.
That means applications such as instant messaging will bleep into life when there’s a chat request you haven’t seen, even if the app isn’t actually running.
It’s Apple’s way of offering multi-tasking on the iPhone, without making it run tons of apps at once, which would sap battery life dead.
According to Apple, the firmware should be available to the public in September, with developers being given a month to build push notification compatibility into their software.
