News from 'The Apple Blog'

I’m downloading iPhone OS 4.0 right now, and the reason that I’m doing so isn’t the big multitasking feature, which grabbed a lot of attention but won’t actually be implemented until devs start including the features in their apps. I’m doing it for the little things.

Little things like Bluetooth Keyboard support and tap to focus for video. And medium-sized things like the introduction of folders. Home screen wallpapers I could actually take or leave, but everything else sounds pretty awesome. Including gloating to my iPad-toting friends when I get the features well before them.

iPhone OS 4.0 comes out for the iPhone and iPod touch this summer, as new iterations of the OS generally do. But iPad owners will have to wait until the fall to see the same features implemented on their devices. The operating systems must be fairly different to merit such a gap between the two release dates, although at least a few of the end user-targeted features introduced are iPad originals.

Developers will no doubt be excited about OS 4.0’s new APIs, including full video/still camera access, support for in-app SMS, calendar access, in-app SMS, 5x digital zoom and carrier info access. But that’s not what’ll really have devs salivating. That’d be Apple’s new iAds platform, which aims to revolutionize mobile advertising. iAds promises to provide a much more interactive advertising experience, right from within apps, and without leaving them. It certainly has a lot of potential, but it remains to be seen whether users will bite. Apple will be using an industry standard 60/40 revenue split for iAds, with devs getting the lion’s share.

Another new intriguing platform-wide feature is Game Center. It looks to accomplish what OpenFeint and Plus+ do now, but across all games (that use the API, I imagine). It’s bad news for those fledgling gaming networks, but it promises to be a much more unified and comprehensive game ranking and matchmaking system for iPhone end users. And it’ll have achievements, too.

It wasn’t all good news for iPhone owners today, though. Owners of 3G and older model iPhones, and of second-gen and older iPod touches are going to be a bit sour following the announcement. They’ll get some of the benefits of iPhone OS 4.0, but not all. The hardware isn’t up to the task of multitasking, for instance. Apple’s probably not losing too much sleep over this, since it provides a mighty nice upgrade incentive.

Many more details will no doubt emerge as the summer go-live date approaches, both about the iPhone OS and about new iPhone hardware. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for new features as I explore the developer preview.

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News from 'The Apple Blog'

From an end user perspective, few of the announcements at today’s Apple iPhone OS 4.0 media event were likely as welcome as was the arrival of multitasking. It’s a feature that people have been looking for since the launch of the platform itself, and it looks like we’ll now be rewarded for waiting so long.

While the OS 4.0 implementation of multitasking doesn’t actually run an app in the background, it does something much better in terms of efficient power and resource usage. Apps can take advantage of seven background services to enable crucial functions without putting too much strain on your device. Unfortunately, you’ll have to have a 3GS or third-gen iPod touch or later to use any of these.

7 Services:

Music Playback

Radio apps like Pandora or Last.fm will now be able to continue playing their audio streams in the background. You’ll even be able to control playback from the lock screen. Maybe your inline headphone controls will also work? Wasn’t specifically mentioned, but makes sense.

VoiP Support

Want to use your Skype credit instead of depending on AT&T’s ridiculous rates? Now you can, all the time. Skype can remain open in the background, and still take incoming calls. In theory, it could become the only phone you need. Skype was demoed, but every VoiP app in the business will likely get on board.

Location

Turn-by-turn navigation apps will be able to use your GPS location even when you’re not actually in the app, so your phone can continue to give you directions while you endanger yourself by playing Plants vs. Zombies in traffic. Also, apps will be able to access Wi-Fi and cell tower positioning to lessen the drain on your battery if they don’t need the accuracy of GPS.

Local Push

Apps can push out their own reminders locally on the iPhone without needing to access servers. Great for to-do reminders, among other things.

Task Completion

Set something in motion, like downloading a new track in Tap Tap Revenge, and the app can now make you aware when it’s completed even after you’ve left it. This could be a real time saver.

App State Save/Restore

Switching apps quickly will be a lot easier now that you can freeze the state of an app and quickly switch to another, then switch back and resume exactly where you left off. This is the easiest to implement, and I imagine all developers will include it eventually.

That’s the story of iPhone OS 4.0’s multitasking capabilities. Regardless of its limitations, it will be a hundred times better than things currently are, especially if the developer community embraces the new features, which I’m sure it will. What multitasking service are you most excited about?

News from 'The Apple Blog'

The iPhone has a number of advantages over its smartphone competitors, but one thing it hasn’t had that users have been clamoring for is true multitasking. Push notifications were intended as a workaround designed to give users the ability to stay up-to-date with multiple apps without having to actually run them at the same time.

It’s still only a partial solution, though, and one many iPhone users aren’t satisfied with. True multitasking is still high on the want list of many iPhone users, and really remains the only thing not addressed by the many major feature additions iPhone 3.0 brought. Luckily, true app backgrounding capabilities are said to be on the way in iPhone 4.0.

That’s according to sources AppleInsider describes as having a “proven track record in predicting Apple’s technological advances.” According to those same sources, though, Apple still has a ways to go before it can introduce these features to iPhone users. But the problem doesn’t lie with the iPhone’s ability to run multiple applications at once.

In fact, the iPhone is quite good at multitasking in its current incarnation. Nike+ runs great while you do other things like take calls and/or check your email. But it’s the only non-Apple app that’s allowed that privilege. And Apple developed it for Nike, so it doesn’t really count. What’s new in iPhone 4.0 is that third-party developers will finally be able to run their apps in the background, too.

Apple hasn’t enabled true multitasking for all apps not because it’s been technically prevented from doing so, but because doing so represents a security risk in terms of opening the door to apps being able to run in the background without the user’s knowledge, which is how viruses and other malware works.

There’s also the issue of increased performance requirements, and increased battery usage. Apple is said to be addressing both of those with the new framework, though the source provided no specifics about how exactly that would be managed. I predict that mutitasking will only work on newer hardware, most likely the 3GS and above. A next-gen iPhone will probably be built from the ground up with multitasking in mind, and should offer battery and processor improvements scaled to compensate.

Another challenge Apple faces in bringing background multitasking to the iPhone is redesigning the user interface. As of now, users can access any currently running Apple programs that use backgrounding by tapping a thin colored bar at the top of the screen. While that works quite well for just one app, if you have a number running at once, it could quickly become way too cluttered and obscure the app you’re actually using at the moment.

According to AppleInsider’s source, the solution in the works at Apple leverages some existing tech from OS X to accomplish this. Personally, I’m betting on some kind of Exposé-type interface, possibly accessed through a special gesture or in a way similar to the one used now to bring up the iPhone’s Spotlight search screen. It might also take a page out of mobile Safari’s book, and use an interface similar to the one the browser has for displaying multiple pages.

The iPhone’s interface in general could probably use a makeover at the point. It’s been unchanged since its launch, and while many would call that a testament to its strength and intuitiveness, there’s no denying that as the iPhone gains new abilities, Apple might want to consider some more drastic changes to the ways in which users access and make use of those functions.

I’m sure Apple can handle the UI challenges, but I’m much more wary about how it addresses the potential security risks that come with opening up backgrounding. Luckily, it still has absolute control over the App Store, but it still might be possible for industrious hackers to bypass the safeguards in place and get some malicious software onto people’s devices.

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