14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Apple is set to unveil the next generation of iPhone software, version 4.0 of the operating system powering not only the iPhone and the iPod touch, but also the company’s latest creation, the iPad. On April 6th, 2010, Apple sent invitations to an event hosted at its Cupertino campus, confirming its plans to beef up the offerings on its iPhone OS-enabled devices. Today, April 8th, Apple is likely to confirm some of the industry’s expectations, which include multitasking, HD support, widget support, and more.
Besides the aforementioned enhancements, Apple is expected to introduce a service called iAd, an advertising platform believed to be the brainchild of Apple’s acquisition of Quattro Wireless. Reportedly, the platform has been described as “revolutionary” and “our next big thing” by Apple chief Steve Jobs, according to executives familiar with the plan. It was set to be officially unveiled to Madison Avenue on April 7th, which, as it turned out, didn’t happen. There is also a big chance that Apple will not discuss anything about this particular matter today, although many experts suggest Apple has every reason to enter the advertising space.
A MediaPost report included a statement from Josh Lovison, the mobile lead at Interpublic's Emerging Media Lab, who said, “Everyone will be following this very closely,” adding that, “Given the way that Apple is able to package things up, with very slick presentations, it will be interesting to see what they do with advertising.”
Apple is not likely to directly confirm plans for a next-generation iPhone at today’s event, but details provided by the company may well be interpreted that way, particularly because iPhone OS 4.0 is set to be a major update. Currently, the iPad runs on the 3.2 version of the iPhone OS, which makes it less likely that Apple’s tablet will be the focus of any discussions today.
This article will be updated with every big and small announcement made by Apple at its Town Hall event. In the meanwhile, use the comments to let the world know what you believe will be unveiled today.
Update #1
The iPhone event has kicked off, with Apple's CEO taking the stage. In usual manner, Steve Jobs goes over Apple's latest achievements.
iPad
- As of today, Apple has sold 450,000 iPads.
- 600,000 iBooks have been downloaded so far; 250,000 on the first day
- Over 1 million iPad apps downloaded on the first day; as of now, there are 3.5 million downloads attributed solely to the tablet device.
- A total of 4 billion App Store downloads have been recorded to date; 185,000 apps currently living in the venue, including the ones for iPad, which now count some 3,500 pieces of software.
iPhone
- iPhone won JD Power’s customer satisfaction award in 2008, 2009 and 2010. - iPhone now has 64% of the smartphone market, leaving Android and Blackberry devices in a trail of dust with just 19% and 9% respectively. - 50 million iPhones sold to date - Talking about iPhone and iPod touch sales combined, Steve Jobs reveals a whopping 85 million units sold.
That's it for the small updates.
Update #2 “Today we are giving a developer preview of OS 4”, Steve Jobs reveals. It ships this summer, while developers get it today. Apple is throwing in 1500 new APIs, in-app SMS, Calendar, automated testing, full map overlays, full access to still and video camera data, carrier information, ICC profiles, Image I/O, half-curl page transition, Quick Look, package-based documents, call event notifications, draggable map annotations, iPod remote control accessories and more.
In fact, "more" is what Jobs is on stage to talk about. He mentions 7 “tentpole features” that will be announced today. The first?
MULTITASKING!
“We weren’t the first to this party, but we’re going to be the best,” says Jobs. “We figured out how to implement multitasking for third party apps and avoid those things," he says, referring to battery drainage. "That’s what took us a little longer, but I think we nailed it.”
Apparently you can run four apps simultaneously, and double click the Home button to reveal a strip of icons whose applications are running. Apps save their state and wait to be accessed again, allowing the user to continue where he/she left off - pretty much the essence of multitasking.
Jobs calls out Scott Forstall, SVP of iPhone Software to explain how they managed to include multitasking in the iPhone OS without having to make compromise.
Update #3
According to Forstall, Apple "distilled down the services that the apps need to multitask in the background." He says, "We implemented these services ourselves,” and now they're passing on the information to developers, so they can do the same with their apps.
Forstall proceeds to show off seven new APIs they’re offering to developers, and explains various new ways for apps to handle the new feature.
Apple is adding an indicator on the status bar to show whether an application is asking for the current location - a small arrow. Several other features are then showcased, including Push Notifications, Local Notifications, Task Completion, and Fast App Switching.
Update #4
Steve Jobs comes back on stage to show off the second iPhone OS 4.0 "tentpole" - Application Folders!
The third major new feature coming to the iPhone OS is an enhanced Mail client with a "unified inbox".
"All of your mail is in one inbox. And, we've made it so you can have more than one Exchange account," says Jobs. "Now if you want to focus on one account, we've added fast inbox switching. In addition we've added the option to organize by thread." Another new mail feature is "open attachments".
Fourth tentpole is iBooks. "We're going to wirelessly sync your books between platforms", Jobs stresses.
Fifth - "Here's some great features for enterprise. We have some really nice features here. Starting with even better data protection," says Scot Forstall, as he takes the stage yet again.
Update #5
"Our 6th tentpole is Game Center," Forstall reveals to the enthusiastic crowd. "This is a dev preview for OS 4. Gaming is extremely popular on the iPhone and iPod touch. We have 50,000 games." He claims iPhone blew away competition - the PSP and DS.
Apple wants to make gaming even better on the iPhone, "so we added a social gaming network." Forstall reveals. Key features include matchmaking, leaderboards, achievements (like those that Xbox fans are acquainted with), the ability to invite friends to play, and more.
Update #6
Apple announces iAd - mobile advertising.
"We have a lot of free or reasonably priced apps... we like that," Steve Jobs relates, "but our devs have to find ways to make money. So our devs are putting ads into apps, and for lack of a better way to say it, we think most of this kind of advertising sucks." The rest of the details can be seen in the picture below.
There's more. Video previews and even games can be built into the ads.
Jobs then proceeds to show various kinds ads, and how they can be implemented.
Update #7
Recap: Multitasking, Application Folders, Improved Mail, iBooks, Enterprise, Game Center, iAd.
Users will be getting all these features in summer, when iPhone OS 4.0 ships. iPhone 3GS and third generation iPod touches are the only supported devices for the entire set of features. iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G users will be able to benefit from many of the new features, but not all. Sadly, that includes multitasking.
iPad will be getting its own version of iPhone OS 4.0 in Fall.
Update #8
Phil Schiller, Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall are now on on stage for a Q&A with the press.
Stick around for more coverage on these exciting new announcements, as well as the extra details provided by Apple's execs during the Q&A.
Image credits: Gizmodo