Multitasking

iOS 4 walkthrough

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Jun 14, 2010 a 12:24 am

Complete feature guide to Apple's latest iOS 4

iOS 4 (previously iPhone OS 4 or iPhone 4.0) continues Apple's relentless yearly mobile OS update cycle. If 2007 was the mainstreaming of the multitouch user interface, 2008 all about the App Store, and 2009 was filling in the feature list, then iOS 4 promises to be... well, that's why we're here.

(And yes, iOS. That's the new name Apple has licensed from trademark-holders Cisco to represent the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch -- and maybe soon the Apple TV and who knows what else -- family.)

Back on April 8 at the sneak preview event, Apple promised 7 "tent-pole" features and 100+ general user features overall, along with 1500 major new API for developers. We're going to walk you through the ones that matter most.

Note: iOS 4.1 is now available. See our complete iOS 4.1 walkthrough for the latest on Game Center, HDR photography, Ping social music network, and the other new features.

See also our iPhone 4 review for more on hardware specific features.

Are iOS 4 background API really the best solution to multitasking?

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Jun 10, 2010 a 1:40 pm

Multitasking was widely rumored to be coming to the iPhone with iOS 4, but instead of a traditional "leave full apps running in the background" approach, Apple instead chose to implement a more restricted but, they felt, better performing and power friendly solution involving 7 specific background API (application programming interfaces.) Is that, however, the best solution to the multitasking challenge as Apple claims? I spoke to several developers during WWDC 2010 and asked them that question.

First, we'll review what Apple is doing in iOS 4, then we'll see if developers think it works as well in reality as as Apple says it does on stage.

TomTom talks iPhone, iOS 4 multitasking - TiPb at WWDC 2010

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Jun 8, 2010 a 9:03 pm

Tom Murray, SVP of Marketing, TomTom sat down with me to discuss their turn-by-turn navigation app for the iPhone. Announced at WWDC 2009, over the last year TomTom has managed to get the app to where all its core functionality is in place and they can give iPhone users a really first-class tool to get them from point A to point B. Now, with iOS 4 and its multitasking API for location, they can start getting them in style.

Since TomTom does everything from owning their own maps to selling their own devices, they're uniquely positioned do things like crowd-source changes in roads or analyze patterns in routes and get that fed back into their system so their 40 million users can share local wisdom whether they're improving their daily commute or driving in a new city for the first time.

With the iPhone, Apple is providing the device (and the GPS) but TomTom still offers a car kit to supplement and extend the built-in hardware. (I asked if the existing car kit would be compatible with the just-introduced iPhone 4, but they hadn't had a chance to get their hands on it yet so they're waiting to whether it fits, whether it requires an adapter, or whether some reengineering will be in order).

No word on an iPad version yet, unfortunately, but turn-by-turn navigation on smartphones is still growing. With free-as-in-Google and open source map apps now on the scene, TomTom is investing in the quality of their service and the trust in their data.

Check out our video interview, after the break!

[TomTom on iTunes]

iPhone OS 4: orientation lock, iPod controls in fast app switcher

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 a 3:50 pm

Today's iPhone OS 4 beta 3 update has brought with it some interesting new features, including a soft-version of the iPad's orientation lock and iPod controls added into the fast app switcher (multitasking) UI.

When you double click the home button to bring up the fast app switcher, you can now scroll all the way to the left to get the new orientation lock and iPod controls. The default on the orientation is off but a tap will turn on, or turn off, the lock. (Home screen doesn't sound like it rotates, however).

iPod controls include back, play/pause, and forward, with the name of the current track written beneath.

The background for the app switcher (and for folders) has also changed from the rubbery, pock-mocked, dark gray of beta 1 and 2 to a new cross-hatched medium gray.

Video after the break! For more check out our complete iPhone OS 4 beta preview and feature walkthrough.

[Thanks anon!]

iPhone OS 4: Multitasking fast app switcher animation

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010 a 7:34 am

iPhone OS 4 beta 2, released yesterday, has introduced a new, circling, side-switching animation for multitasking fast app switching. The new animation occurs when you switch between two apps either via the new, double-click-Home to trigger to launch the multitasking UI, or when one app calls another app (i.e. when you're in Contacts and you tap to send a contact an SMS, as noted by @ranger_bill).

Launching or leaving an app retains the same, zoom-based effect as always (though the wallpaper in iPhone OS 4 zooms slightly as well, like on the iPad -- gotta love those little details Apple puts in).

Check out our complete iPhone OS 4 preview and feature walkthrough for more and hit up the video after the break!

iPhone 4 beta 1 jailbreak on iPhone 3G - multitasking included

By Jeremy, Thursday, Apr 15, 2010 a 5:42 pm

Apple has not been shy in stating that the original iPhone 3G will not support multitasking but iPhone hacker cdevwill has proved them wrong - sort of. After the break you can see a YouTube video of an iPhone 3G running iPhone OS 4 jailbroken with functional multitasking.

While this all seems like a bed of roses stop and think about it for a minute: the only apps someone could test currently are those built in the iPhone OS 4 software (many of which have always multitasked) - no 3rd party apps. You'll notice in the video the amount of time it takes to open the clock application. Now imagine trying to play a game like Plants vs. Zombies and checking your Twitter all while streaming Pandora.

So while multitasking on an iPhone 3G appears to work, don't expect a very smooth experience. This is more than likely the reason Apple claims it will not work (even if they'd rather you upgraded your hardware).

If you want to learn more about jailbreaking in general stop by our forum dedicated to the topic and be sure to check out the video after the break!

Fring, Slacker, TeleNav, NAVIGON comment on Apple's iPhone 4.0 multitasking

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Apr 13, 2010 a 6:04 pm

The first of Apple's big iPhone OS 4 announcements was multitasking, and the first set of multitasking announcements were APIs to let streaming music (think internet radio), location services (think navigation, check-in games, social networks), and VoIP services (think internet telephony) register threads in the background. For users this means you can keep listening to your songs, getting your turn-by-turn directions, and answering your virtual phone all while surfing the web or playing a game.

To find out what it means for developers, we asked some. Read what they had to say after the break!

iOS 4 Preview

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Apr 11, 2010 a 10:55 pm

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iOS 4 (previously iPhone OS 4, iPhone 4.0) continues Apple's relentless yearly mobile OS beta and release cycle. If 2007 was the mainstreaming of the multitouch user interface, 2008 all about the app store, and 2009 filling in the feature list, then iPhone 4 promises to be... well, that's why we're here.

(And yes, iOS. That's the new name Apple has licensed from trademark holders Cisco to represent the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch -- and maybe soon Apple TV and who knows what else -- family.)

Apple promises 7 "tent-pole" features and 100+ new user features overall, along with 1500 major new APIs for developers. We're going to walk through the ones that matter most. As with previous years, Apple is likely to release a half-dozen or more betas, as often as every second week or so, leading up to a Gold Master (GM) seed on or around WWDC 2010 (date yet to be announced) for iPhone and iPod touch, and September for iPad.

Things can and will change. Features will come and go. And all sorts of iOS secrets will be discovered deep inside the code strings. We'll update when any of that happens.

TiPb Live Podcast #94 -- iPhone 4.0-boy!

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Apr 10, 2010 a 11:05 am

Join Rene, Phil, and Keith for post-iPhone 4.0 event analysis on multitasking, app folders, iBooks for iPhone, Game Center social network, mail enhancements, enterprise enhancements, iAds, and more. Listen in!