14 DAY TRIAL // Provided that you have a new-generation device, Apple says you’re in for some wild times come summer 2010 when the company launches iPhone OS 4, “the biggest and most exciting iPhone software update yet,” according to a post on its website. “iPhone OS 4 will include over 100 new user features for iPhone and iPod touch owners to enjoy,” the company claims, “And for developers, a new software development kit (SDK) offers over 1500 new APIs to create apps that are even more powerful, innovative, and amazing.”
One of those exciting, new features for end users is, of course, the highly anticipated multitasking functionality. Without fail, Apple worked out a way to include multitasking in the iPhone OS. The company originally claimed it didn’t have to make any compromises, citing the unaffected battery life. However, one rather significant compromise has been made, in that older generation hardware owners have been left out for this update. Sadly, only iPhone 3GS and third-gen iPod touch owners will get the full array of 4.0-specific features. Of the latter group, devices with 32GB or higher storage will be supported. Developers seem the only ones to benefit from this ordeal, as they’re no longer required to focus on supporting old hardware.
And while other key 4.0 features are worth mentioning, Multitasking is by far the biggest enhancement yet to hit the iPhone user-base. As Steve Jobs himself outlined during yesterday’s event, “We weren’t the first to this party, but we’re going to be the best.” “We figured out how to implement multitasking for third party apps and avoid those things,” he added, referring to battery drainage. “That’s what took us a little longer, but I think we nailed it.” By the looks of things, they have. As demoed in the keynote, multitasking on the iPhone clearly takes Apple one more step ahead of the competition.
“iPhone OS 4 delivers seven new multitasking services that allow your apps to perform tasks in the background while preserving battery life and performance,” Apple officially discloses on its website. The company whose iPad went on sale just a couple of weeks ago proceeds to enumerate some of the multitasking services set to become available to handset owners this summer. They have been reproduced below, in accordance with Apple’s official post.
· Background audio - Allows your app to play audio continuously. So customers can listen to your app while they surf the web, play games, and more. · Voice over IP - Your VoIP apps can now be even better. Users can now receive VoIP calls and have conversations while using another app. Your users can even receive calls when their phones are locked in their pocket. · Background location - Navigation apps can now continue to guide users who are listening to their iPods, or using other apps. iPhone OS 4 also provides a new and battery efficient way to monitor location when users move between cell towers. This is a great way for your social networking apps to keep track of users and their friends' locations. · Push notifications - Receive alerts from your remote servers even when your app isn't running. · Local notifications - Your app can now alert users of scheduled events and alarms in the background, no servers required. · Task finishing - If your app is in mid-task when your customer leaves it, the app can now keep running to finish the task. · Fast app switching - All developers should take advantage of this. This will allow users to leave your app and come right back to where they were when they left - no more having to reload the app.
Finally, readers looking to see multitasking in action on a 3GS device can check out 9to5mac’s iPhone 4 Walkthrough video below. It details the new key features delivered in iPhone OS 4.0, including how multitasking works.