iPhone OS 4 is official, folks. The developer preview is out today, and Apple’s given us a glimpse of what to expect when the final release lands in Summer. Cupertino’s ticked off a large part of our wishlist with it, and even thrown a few curveballs we didn’t expect. Read on for the full rundown.
It multitasks
Better late than never right? Still, at least we know Apple’s planned it carefully so iPhone OS 4 won’t drain your battery. You’ll be able to double tap the home button to see a dock of open programs, and apps with certain functions will be able to have them run in the background. Specifically, third party music streaming (Spotify, we await your update) and Skype VOIP calls when your phone is locked or in another app, as well as background location updates. Curiously, Apple has said you won’t be able to close apps from the app switching bar – we’ll see how that pans out in due course.
It has iBooks
iBooks and the iBookstore, Apple’s big push into selling digital tomes on the iPad, is coming to the iPhone too with iPhone OS 4. Just like how Kindle works across platforms, it offers wireless chapter syncing. And it should also mean you’ll be able to load up your iPhone OS 4 mobile with EPUB files floating around on your PC too, but Apple hasn’t clarified that just yet.
It’s got a Game Center
We hope it’s called “Game Centre” when iPhone OS 4 hits the UK, but the idea is sound regardless of our regional spelling and grammar gripes. It’s a social network for all the games you’re obsessed with on your iPhone and iPod touch, offering leader boards and achievements for anyone who likes a bit of competition. You can invite your mates to play games against you, and if they don’t have the game already it’ll guide them to the right App Store page to buy it. It’s basically Xbox Live, on your mobile, which should give Microsoft a scare since it’s planning just that for Windows Phone 7.
It has folders
A simple one, but one Apple’s held back on until it can do it right. You can only stick apps in them, but all it takes to tidy up your many homescreens is dragging one icon on top of another. A folder will be automatically created, and if all the apps you stick in it are the same category, it’ll even name it for you too.
It’s customisable
Well, the backgrounds are, anyway. Just like the iPad, you’ll be able to set your homescreen’s background, as well as tweaking the iPhone’s standby / lock screen to display a photo of your choosing. Get a brief glimpse of it in the first iPhone OS 4 video.
It plays nice with enterprise
Apple wants a bigger piece of RIM’s BlackBerry corporate pie, so it’s made the iPhone more appealing for big businesses with iPhone OS 4: there’s now tighter data security, wireless app distribution and remote management of fleet handsets. And speaking of business, Apple’s made email a whole lot more useful in iPhone OS 4 too: there are merged mailboxes, threaded conversations and the ability to have more than one Exchange account for push email. Hooray!
It has adverts you might actually like
Say what? Yup: Apple snaffled up Quattro Wireless for a purpose. It’s got a new advertising platform for iPhone OS 4, iAd, which lets developers use HTML5 standards to create bespoke and interactive ads within apps. They can be games or videos and can even call on your location to serve up relevant and local results. We can’t guarantee they won’t be obtrusive until we try them, but they sure look like they might have a chance of being clicked on by us.
Not every phone (or iPod touch) gets every feature
The iPhone 3GS and third generation iPod touch get iPhone OS 4 this Summer, and the iPad gets it in the Autumn. But if you’ve got an iPhone 3G or 2nd-gen iPod touch, Apple has said multitasking won’t be coming your way, even if most of the other new features are. As for the first generation iPhone, Apple hasn’t explicitly ruled it out, but we’d take it as a safe bet it’s not getting it either. Lastly, there’s the iPad. Apple has confirmed OS 4 will be coming to iPad, but has so far been vague about multitasking on the iPad.
Still confused? Check out which iGadget will get the OS 4 update with our easy to follow guide.
