UPDATE 2: Yup, it’s official, the 8GB iPod touch third generation won’t support multi-tasking, only the 32 and 64GB models. Sorry folks.
UPDATE: Apple has revealed what devices will get iPhone OS 4. The iPhone 3GS and 3rd-gen iPod touch will run it, while the iPad will get it in Autumn. Unfortunately, while Apple has promised new features for the iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G, multitasking won’t be among them.
iPhone OS 4 will bring multitasking to third party apps, Apple has finally revealed. It’s three years too late, but it might just have been worth the wait: read on for the details on how iPhone OS 4 app switching works.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed today in California that iPhone OS 4 will allow for multitasking, and admitted that Apple wasn’t the “first to this party.” But he is amining for it to be the best: it works simply by double tapping the home button in an app to bring up a dock tray of open programs that looks similar to the tray of four present at the bottom of every iPhone home screen page.
There are seven multitasking services Apple’s giving the greenlight, so it’s not just any old app that can be pushed and left to operate rather than stay open in the background though. One is background audio streaming, so apps like Spotify and Pandora should run while you surf the web or check your email – Apple’s currently demoing it with the latter right now. Pandora founder Tim Westergen says that it took a day for the company to tweak the app for background music playing so it shouldn’t be too hard for others to do likewise. You’ll also be able to control Pandora from the lock screen, as if it were used with the traditional iPod controls.
Background audio will also be allowed for Voice over Internet Protocol apps like Skype, so you’ll be able to receive international calls over the web when your iPhone is locked with iPhone OS 4, and calls will come through as pop ups. Not only that, but with Skype you can even set your ringtone to be just the same as your iPhone’s main tone, making the boundaries between network and internet calls much more blurred – for the better.
Background location comes in two flavours meanwhile: turn by turn satnav apps like TomTom for iPhone can run in the background and shout out street turns while a passenger browses the web. But to save battery drain with the GPS, more slow paced location apps (Apple uses Loopt as an example but we can see Foursquare digging this) can use cell tower pin pointing instead. You’ll be able to turn on and off location tracking within every single app, so you don’t have to worry about cheeky invasions of privacy.
Local notifications are also making their debut with iPhone OS 4. Previously, apps had to use Apple’s servers to shove push notifications to all those millions of iPhones, but now those instant updates can be delivered straight to a handset.
Lastly, task completion will allow for an app to close automatically once it’s done (uploading a pic, say) , and the fast app switching achieved by double tapping the home button.
Apple is releasing a developer preview for iPhone OS 4 today, so if you’re a paid up dev, it’s time to get stuck in – the rest of us will have to wait until Summer.
Out Summer 2010 | £TBC | Apple
