The iPad is a terrific tool for both work and leisure. It even has a bunch of Multitasking features that allow you to do even more with it at once, though you might not yet know how to use features like Slide Over and Split View on your iPad.

Using iPad Multitasking can help turn your iPad into a laptop replacement or the ultimate content consumption device — or both — so it's well worth getting to grips with these features. We're here to show you how!

How does Multitasking work on iPad?

There are four main components to Multitasking on iPad: Slide Over, Split View, Picture-in-Picture, and the App Switcher. These features have received continual improvement since their introduction onto the iPad and have only gotten better ever since.

We've included instructions towards the end of this guide specifically for the new iPadOS 15 Multitasking Menu, though the previous gesture-based methods for invoking Multitasking still work in version 15 as well as previous software versions, so we've kept those in, too.

Slide Over allows you to have an additional app on the left or right side of the screen in an iPhone-sized floating pane; you can also hide it off the screen or re-summon it at any time by swiping it away (hence the "slide" portion of the name).

Slide Over doesn't have a default "app" you can slide in from the screen — after a restart, you'll need to drag one on the screen from the Dock or Home screen.

Split View lets you have two persistent apps sitting side by side on your iPad. Depending on the screen size of your iPad, those two apps may be displayed as Compact (iPhone UI) or Regular (iPad UI) next to each other.

On certain iPads, you can also resize Split View panes for a 50-50, 25-75, or 75-25 split in a horizontal orientation; when holding the tablet vertically, you'll only have the 25-75 or 75-25 options.

• 50-50: Each app takes up the same real estate on the iPad.
• 25-75: The app on the left takes up just 25% of the screen, with the right app taking up 75%.
• 75-25: The app on the left takes up 75% of the screen, with the right app taking up 25%.

When multitasking in the App Switcher, Split View apps remain conjoined until separated; Apple calls them "App Spaces." However, unlike the Mac's Spaces, you can't have multiple configurations of the same apps (i.e., an App Space that had Safari and Mail, and an App Space that had Safari and Fantastical) at this time.

Suppose you're watching a video in an app that supports Picture-in-Picture. In that case, you may be able to minimize the video window to float alongside your current workspace, effectively making the video a second Slide Over pane.

Once in Picture-in-Picture mode, you can pinch-to-zoom or shrink the window, position it in any corner of the screen, play/pause video, slide the video off-screen, or return it to its original app.

The App Switcher can be accessed by swiping up with one finger from the bottom edge of the screen and holding it in the middle until the app switcher appears. It shows you your Dock and your recently used apps, and any Split Views you have set up, making it easy to jump between different apps.

Recently used apps can be scrolled through by swiping right and tapping on them to enter them; you can also force quit them by pressing and holding on a pane and moving your finger upward.

If you're running iPadOS 15, you can use the App Switcher to combine apps into Split Views and even quit one app that is already in a Split View to take the remaining app full screen. Slide Over apps also show in the App Switcher in iPadOS 15.

How to use Slide Over or Split View on iPad

Whether you want to add a Slide Over pane or enter Split View, adding an app to your workspace is pretty simple.

How to Use Slide Over on iPad

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to invoke the Dock.
2. Tap and drag on an app you want to use in the Dock.
3. Drag the app to the center of the screen.
4. Release your drag.

5. if you want to Hide your Slide Over app, you can touch and swipe the edit handle at the top of the screen to the left or the right to hide it.

Drag a different app on top of your existing Slide Over to switch the app.

How to Use Split View on iPad

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to invoke the Dock.
2. Tap and drag on an app you want to use in the Dock.
3. Drag the app to the far left or right of the screen until you see the main app pane bump over, leaving a black space.
4. Release your drag.

Drag a different app on top of your existing Split View to switch the app.

1. If the Slide Over view is hidden, swipe to the left or right side of the display to invoke the slide over window.
2. Drag the Slide Over pane's Edit handle at the top of the screen to the far right or left until you see the main app pane bump over, leaving a black space.
3. Release your drag.

1. Pull down on the Split View pane's edit handle at the top of the screen until you see the main app pane bump over, taking over the entirety of the screen.
2. Release your drag.

How to reposition an app in Slide Over

1. Tap and drag the edit handle to position the Slide Over window on the left or right side of the screen.
2. Release your drag.

3. Drag the Slide Over window all the way to the right or left side of the display until it disappears to dismiss the window.

1. To reposition the size of each Split View, drag on the vertical edit handle in the middle of the screen.
2. Tap and drag the top edit handle in the middle of the screen to the left or right to reposition the Split View window.
3. Release your drag.

4. To move an app to the left or right side of the Split View window, tap on the edit handle at the top of the screen and move the app to the right or the left.

How to add multiple apps to Slide Over

In addition to adding multiple apps to the Slide Over window, you can also switch between them and even close them like you would on your iPhone. Here's how.

1. When you have a Slide Over window, slide your finger up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the Dock.
2. Tap-and-drag an app icon from the Dock to the Slide Over view, ensuring it's above the split line or towards the side edges where the window becomes smaller.
3. This new app will go to the forefront of the Slide Over apps.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for all of the apps you need in a single space.

If you want another instance of an app already open in Split Screen or Slide Over views (i.e., Safari), you can choose to open up an existing instance or a fresh new slate.

How to rotate through app tabs in Slide Over view

When you have several apps open in the multiple Slide Over view, only the most recent one appears in the front. But it's easy to rotate between all of your open app tabs in a Split Screen or Full-Screen space.

1. Make sure to get several apps in Slide Over view using the directions above.
2. Touch and hold the handle at the bottom of the frontmost app in Slide Over view.

3. Swipe to the right to bring the previous app to the front.
4. Repeat the process until you get the app you need in the front.

How to trigger the Slide Over Switcher

Earlier, we showed you how to rotate through multiple app tabs in Slide Over view. If you don't want to go through them all one by one, you can spread them out and pick the one you want to jump to with the new Slide Over Switcher.

1. With multiple Slide Over apps active in a space (single or Split Screen view), touch-and-drag the handle at the bottom of the Slide Over app upwards.
2. Once you see the other Slide Over views peeking through, release your finger.
3. All apps you've opened in Slide Over view will appear spread out in cards.
   • Scroll through them by swiping left and right.
   • Tap on the app you want to jump into.

How to remove Slide Over windows

1. While you're in Slide Over view, activate the spread out app tab view (Slide Over Switcher) as described above.
2. Scroll left and right to find the app that you want to remove.
3. Swipe that app's card up to remove it.

4. Repeat steps 2-3 until you've removed all of the apps that you want.

How to use App Exposé on iPad

When you start opening up many apps and working with multiple instances of an app, it's easy to lose track of what you have open. Your iPad has a few ways to see everything simultaneously: App Exposé and Slide Over Switcher.

App Exposé lets you view all open windows for an app. There are two ways to do this.

1. When you're in Split Screen, Full Screen, or Slide Over mode, slide your finger up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the Dock.
2. Tap on an app.
3. App Exposé will reveal all open instances of that app, including Split Screen and Slide Over views.

1. On your Home Screen, long-press on an app icon until a menu pops up.
2. Tap on Show All Windows to open App Exposé for that app.

While you're in App Exposé, you can tap on an instance of that app to open it back up. Slide Over views cannot be opened unless there is an active app or Split Screen view.

How to use Slide Over and Split View in iPadOS 15

With iPadOS 15, Apple has made some changes to how both Split View and Slide Over work. They've made it so that it's easier to do and more fluid thanks to the new Multitasking Control button. Here's how to use Split View and Slide Over in iPadOS 15.

1. Launch an app that you want to open on your iPad. It should take up the entire screen.
2. Open the Multitasking Menu at the top of the app, near the status bar by tapping the ellipsis icon (•••).
3. Select whether you want Split View (center option, 50/50) or Slide Over (right option, looks like one-third). Either way, your current app will slide over to the side, bringing you to the Home screen and Dock.

4. Select another app that you want to open in either Split View or Slide Over.
5. If you went with Split View, it defaults to 50/50. You can drag the handle in-between the two apps to go 25/75 or 75/25 Split View.

6. If you went with Slide Over, you can drag the app from the top bar (with the Multitasking Control button) to move it to the left or right side of the screen.

Optionally, you can still invoke an app into Slide Over or Split View by dragging it from the Dock by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. If you choose this method, drag it to the center for Slide Over or to either the left or right for Split View.

If you want to change out an app in Split View, repeat steps 3-6 above with another app of your choosing.

When you have an app that already has multiple windows or views open, then you can invoke the App Shelf, a new feature that builds on the App Exposé feature of previous iPadOS versions.

When you have multiple windows open, the Shelf shows automatically when you open the app, though you can prompt it to show at any time with the below method.

1. In an app that supports multiple windows or views (i.e., Safari), open up a new window.
2. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the Dock.
3. Tap the app from your Dock while you're still in the app.
4. The Shelf lets you view your current open windows, and you can even open a new window if needed.

5. You can tap the Multitasking Control button on these windows to bring them into Split View or Slide Over mode.

How to use Quick Note in iPadOS 15

In addition to regular multitasking methods and the new Multitasking Menu, Apple also added an all-new feature with iPadOS 15 in the form of Quick Note. It allows users to quickly jot down ideas, save links, write something with Apple Pencil, and more in the Notes app without disrupting your current multitasking setup.

We've got a dedicated guide showing you how to use Quick Note that is well worth checking out.

Do more at once

Now that you know how to use Slide Over and Split View in iPadOS, you'll be able to enjoy the best iPad Multitasking experience. It might take a little while to get into the habit of using these features regularly, but once you do it opens up a whole new way of using your iPad.

Updated April 2022: Updated for iPadOS 15 multitasking.

Picture-in-picture (PiP) isn't a new concept: It's existed on television and computer displays for years to let you view multiple items simultaneously. On the iPad, picture-in-picture lets you watch video from an app or the web while working in other programs.

Which iPad models support picture-in-picture video?

Picture-in-Picture mode is available on all of the current best iPad models, of course, but it also supports models from a few generations back. The full list includes the iPad Pro (all models), iPad (5th generation and later), iPad Air 2 and later, and iPad mini 4 and later.

Note: Developers need to enable PiP support in their apps or web services in order for it to work. If you don't see the PiP button on your favorite app or website, let the developer know you want it.

How to enter picture-in-picture mode on iPad

1. Tap the video you're watching.
2. Tap the picture-in-picture button in one of the corners of the video window.

iPad picture-in-picture mode will also launch automatically if you return to the Home screen from a PiP-enabled app while video is playing. (That's how you can put FaceTime into PiP mode, for example).

How to adjust the picture-in-picture window on the iPad

Picture-in-picture video defaults to roughly quarter-screen size (with amble transparent border) and the lower left-hand side of the display, but you can easily resize and reposition it.

1. Pinch two fingers together to shrink the PiP window.
2. Spread two fingers apart on the window to expand the PiP window.

3. To reposition it, you simply drag the window with one finger.

If you need to use your full iPad screen for something else but don't want to stop listening to the video's audio, instead of closing the picture-in-picture window, you can simply tuck it away for a time.

1. Drag the PiP window all the way to the left or right of the screen.
2. Tap the PiP window tray to bring the window back out onto the screen.

How to interact with the picture-in-picture window

In addition to the multitouch controls, there are various controls on the PiP pane itself that show when you tap the window:

• Return to app, which has two rectangles and an arrow; tapping it will return the video to its original app and restore the video to full screen.
• Playback controls, including play/pause and 15-second skip functions.
• Close, which will end video playback and close the PiP window.

How to disable picture-in-picture video on iPad

Since iPad picture-in-picture mode starts automatically when you leave an app during playback, it may not be ideal in all situations. Fortunately, Apple gives you a way to disable that within your device's settings.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap on General if you aren't already in the General tab.

3. Tap on Picture in Picture.
4. Toggle Start PiP Picture to the gray OFF position.

This way, you'll only experience PiP video when you manually choose to do so. To re-enable automatic PiP video, simply repeat the process but turn that last toggle ON (green) instead of OFF.

More multitasking

Picture-in-Picture is a neat aspect of iPad multitasking that allows you to enjoy video content while getting something else done. It's perfect for quickly looking something up without interrupting your movie or for watching some live sports coverage while getting some work done.

Updated March 2022: Updated for iPadOS 15.

Apple's iPad models are incredibly powerful, so much so that it often feels like the software is holding back the hardware — and that's especially true with desktop-class chips now powering several iPad models.

For iPad power users, one of the main frustrations with using their devices each day is the lack of true multi-window multitasking, but that could be about to change if the latest rumor is to be believed.

Over on Twitter, self-professed researcher Majin Bu claims that "Apple is developing a smart system for iPadOS" that will allow apps to operate in full-screen but enable them to "automatically shrink when connected to keyboard and trackpad." Internally dubbed Apple Mixer, apparently, the feature might not make it into iPadOS 16, might be M1-exclusive, or, you know, may not exist at all, but it's got me excited for the future of the iPad regardless.

Paving the way

iOS, and by extension iPadOS, was designed to get out of the way for the most part and allow the content to fill your screen. This simplicity has proven immensely popular, but it didn't scale particularly well to the larger and more powerful iPad models.

As bigger iPad screens started arriving, so too did the ability to display more than one app at once, but the iPad's multitasking experience is still fairly rudimentary. Features like drag and drop have made using an iPad seem more computer-like, but it's still not quite there and, particularly at the Pro-end of the iPad line, the hardware is being kneecapped by the software.

Adding keyboard and, more importantly, trackpad support to iPadOS has made the experience feel much more laptop-like and has opened up new ways of working where touch is too imprecise, though the windowing is still where the experience falls down.

I had hoped that iPadOS 15 might fundamentally re-imagine the iPad software experience after a lackluster iPadOS 14 release, but the 2021 update focused mainly on improving foundational experiences. iPadOS 15 did improve the discoverability and usability of multitasking, but not how it actually works, though perhaps we got a glimpse into a floating window future with the new Quick Note feature.

Automatic switching

Of course, I am running away with this rumor being true at this point but the idea of automatically changing modes based on peripherals sounds incredible. Thanks to the Smart Connector, an iPad Pro or iPad Air 5 detects when it has been magnetically attached to a Magic Keyboard immediately. A Bluetooth keyboard and mouse getting connected could elicit the same response in software.

Discoverability is one potential problem, and Apple has often hidden away some of its most advanced features behind gestures or deep down in Accessibility settings pages. However, given the productivity focus of a potential true windowing experience and the clunkiness of trying to resize small windows with fat fingers, I think this would be one case where a power-user feature is right to be obfuscated from view, this time unavailable until the right peripherals are detected.

I would imagine, again if this rumor turns out to be true, that this windowing experience would play nice with Universal Control too, allowing you to flow freely between many windows on your Mac and iPad using just one mouse and keyboard.

Two floating windows ≠ proper multitasking

A lot of people sitting in front of a Mac or PC for work will keep a ton of windows open all day, every day. Right now, I have Mail, Safari, Music, Slack, and Notes open on my Mac screen. When I work from my iPad, I only really ever have two of these apps open at a time and have to switch between different multitasking views that I set up.

The ability to have three or more apps open on screen at once, with windows that can be dynamically resized to suit my needs, would be a huge boon. Those that like to work this way will enjoy it, those that prefer to operate one-app-at-a-time will still be able to do so. There's very little downside.

The people who spend laptop-like prices on one of the best iPads and a Magic Keyboard today expect a laptop-like experience, and iPadOS does not really provide one just yet. Proper support for windows would certainly win a lot of folks over and be a powerful marketing message for the more premium iPad models and the Magic Keyboard accessory.

However, the example shown in the tweet from Majin Bu simply has two smaller windows on an iPad screen. That alone is not an improvement on what we have today with Split Screen.

The suggestion appears to be that these can be placed arbitrarily on the screen, that there's room for more than two windows, and there may even be the possibility to resize them, overlap them, and otherwise arrange them however you want. That Mac-like multitasking experience is sorely lacking from iPadOS and is particularly noticeable when using a keyboard and trackpad that already feels so Mac-like in terms of hardware.

How Apple solves power management when multiple apps are all viewable at once remains to be seen. It has been pretty good at handling background states for apps on mobile up to this point and macOS is already smart about prioritizing power for visible windows over those that are not actively in use, so I'm sure that there could be an efficient way to do it. Regardless, those choosing to use this mode may be happy to trade off a little bit of the iPad's stellar battery life for the improved multitasking experience.

WWDC calling

Apple's worldwide developer conference is just a few months away and we'll no doubt see Apple's vision for the future of the iPad laid out there with the unveiling of iPadOS 16.

Though this feature may not be ready for the next version of iPadOS, according to the leaker, it or something like it is surely on Apple's docket for iPad in the near future.

iPad multitasking has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Snap up one of the best iPads and you'll soon have plenty of options for working more efficiently than ever before. Using iPadOS means you can keep two windows side-by-side with Split View, or opt to bring in a new app window to fire off a quick message before switching back. At all times, you can always use Slide Over to perform some quick research.

Through such neat features, it's also simple enough to keep watching video from the web or an app, all while still carrying on with other tasks thanks to picture-in-picture support. At the same time, you can jot something down quickly via Quick Note or switch between multiple windows of the same app using Shelf.

Whether you're using the latest iPad Pro M2 or the highly portable iPad mini, it's useful to know how to multitask well. Here's your guide to how to use all of the best iPad multitasking features.

How to use Slide Over and Split View on iPad

Using Slide Over and Split View means you can have two or more different apps open at the same time. It's even possible to have two instances of the same app open so you can do useful things like set up a two-window Safari split view. Perfect for juggling keeping one eye on something while also keeping the other eye on something completely different. The function works in many Apple apps as well as plenty of third-party apps too.

How to enable Picture-in-Picture mode on iPad

One useful iPad multitasking feature is perfect if you like to keep an eye on a match, video, or anything else visual while you work. iPadOS Picture-in-Picture (PiP) means you can view video from the web or an app like YouTube or Twitch (and any others that support the feature), all while still using and working with other apps. Even better, it works in conjunction with Split View.

It's very simple to re-size or move the PiP window around so you can make sure it doesn't block anything you're working on in other open apps. You can even swipe it off the screen temporarily to give the other app undivided attention, all without interrupting playback.

How to use Quick Note on iPad

Quick Note is an iPad multitasking feature that arrived with iPadOS 15. It provides you with an easy-access notepad so you can jot down any information you need without having to disturb your current multitasking setup.

To access it, swipe from the bottom right corner of your iPad's screen with your finger or an Apple Pencil. From there, you can type notes in, use your Apple Pencil to write something, add links, images, and plenty of other things too. It's useful for those times you might forget something.

How to use the Shelf on iPad

Another improvement to iPad multitasking since iPadOS 15 is the Shelf. If you're using an app with multiple windows open, you can use the Shelf to easily switch between them. It's a valuable timesaver. 

How to use keyboard shortcuts on iPad

Over the years, many keyboard shortcuts in iPadOS have helped cut down on time getting things set up. While such shortcuts aren't exactly multitasking features, they do make it easy to switch between apps, set up multitasking Split Views, interact with Siri, and more.

In particular, if you have a wireless keyboard or a keyboard case like Apple's Magic Keyboard, keyboard shortcuts can really boost your productivity. 

While your primary interactions with HomePod will probably take place through Siri, the top of the device features a "touch surface" that lets you perform a number of gesture-based commands. While you won't be able to browse your music library or control HomeKit accessories, these touch commands offer quick and easy basic controls for your HomePod.

Here's how to use touch controls with HomePod.

• How to control HomePod music playback with the touch surface
• How to control HomePod volume with the touch surface
• How to activate Siri on the HomePod with the touch surface

How to control HomePod music playback with the touch surface

1. Tap once on the touch surface to play or pause music.
2. Double-tap on the touch surface to skip to the next track.
3. Triple-tap on the touch surface to skip back to the previous track.

How to control HomePod volume with the touch surface

1. Tap once on the + button on the touch surface to incrementally increase volume.
2. Touch and hold on the + button on the touch surface to continually increase the volume.
3. Tap once on the - button on the touch surface to incrementally decrease volume.
4. Touch and hold on the - button on the touch surface to continually decrease the volume.

How to activate Siri on the HomePod with the touch surface

1. Touch and hold on the touch surface to activate Siri.
2. Speak your Siri command.

Questions

If you have any questions about controlling your HomePod with gestures, ask away in the comments.

The iPhone X introduces a new way to use multitasking that nevertheless feels a bit familiar. Without a Home button, you no longer double-tap, but you do still rely on the bottom section of the device. Apple has also introduced a feature to the iPhone X that's been present on iPads for a while: fast app switching, allowing you to swipe your finger along the bottom of your iPhone X and quickly switch between apps.

Here's how you can use fast app switching and multitasking on the iPhone X.

• How to quickly switch between apps on the iPhone X
• How to use multitasking on the iPhone X
• How to force quit apps on the iPhone X

How to quickly switch between apps on the iPhone X

Fast app switching is a very convenient way to quickly switch back and forth between your recent apps.

1. Touch your finger to the gesture area at the bottom of the screen, either while on your Home screen or in an app.
2. Swipe right or left to switch back and forth between apps.

How to use multitasking on the iPhone X

Multitasking works similarly to how it has on previous iPhones, though now you swipe up instead of tapping on a Home button.

1. Touch your finger to the gesture area at the bottom of the screen.
2. Swipe up and hold your finger in place for a moment until the card-like multitasking interface appears.
3. Swipe right or left to navigate between your apps.

How to force quit apps on the iPhone X

If your apps are working like they're supposed to, you really shouldn't force quit them. However, if you ever need to, you should know that force quitting has changed a bit on the iPhone X.

1. Touch your finger to the gesture area at the bottom of the screen.
2. Swipe up and hold your finger in place for a moment until the card-like multitasking interface appears.
3. Tap and hold on the app you want to quit until the red circle with the "-" symbol appears in the top left corner of the app.

4. Flick the app up.
5. Alternatively, tap the red circle.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments if you have any questions about multitasking on iPhone X.

If you've got an iPhone 8 or older or any iPad, you might sometimes notice a delay when you try to activate multitasking by double-pressing the Home button. This is likely due to the iOS Accessibility Shortcut, which lets you quickly access several accessibility features by triple-pressing the Home button. Because this feature uses the triple-press, iOS waits a moment for the third press before registering that it isn't coming and activating multitasking.

Interestingly, iPhone X owners don't face this particular problem, as the shortcut is activated by triple-clicking the side button on that device. However, they might notice a similar delay when trying to manually activate Apple Pay, which is done with two clicks of the side button.

The solution to slow multitasking activation is to turn off Accessibility Shortcut completely. The good news is that this is easy to do.

How to turn off Accessibility Shortcut to speed up multitasking

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Accessibility.

4. Tap Accessibility Shortcut.
5. Tap any of the shortcuts with a checkmark next to them to turn them off.

With all of the options unchecked, Accessibility Shortcut should now be turned off. You can now resume multitasking at the intended speed.

Question

Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions about speeding up multitasking on your iPhone or iPad.

I use Split View on macOS all the time, especially on the smaller 12-inch MacBook. It lets you keep two windows visible and active at the same time. It's similar to the iPad feature of the same name but where the iOS version started better and has gotten even better, since its introduction in 2015, the macOS version has languished in feature purgatory. That's something I hope Apple will change in macOS 10.14.

To invoke Split View, you hold down the green button, pick the side you want the first app on, pick the second app from an Exposé-style view of currently active windows, and — boom — you're off and working.

From there you can grab the toolbar and pull an app from left to right or right to left. What you can't do is change either app in the Split View. Ever.

If you have Safari on the left and Notes on the right, for example, you can switch sides for Safari and Notes, but you can't switch Safari for Maps or Notes for Messages. All you can do is destroy the Split View and create another using a different combination of apps. That is, once you reclaim whichever of the apps went full screen instead of returning to its previous state...

Contrast that to Split View on iPad where iOS 11 brought an all-new "dealing" mechanic that lets you pull apps from the Dock, toss them onto either side of the Split View, swap them around, and replace them at will. The new Fast App Switcher on iPad even remembers recent Split View combos and lets you return to them with just a couple swipes and taps.

That works great on multitouch. What I'd love to see on Mac is a mechanic where, if you hold down the green button again, its window shrinks back down to the chooser, and you can pick a different window to take its place in the Split View.

Nailing the interaction would be tricky, and there may well be another, much better way of doing it already in the works. Potentially for years now. I'd just love for it to work.

Split View has become a frequent companion of mine on the MacBook and MacBook Pro. With a few more tweaks, it would not only be more frequent but more constant.

Hopefully, Apple has something in the works for WWDC 2018, and the next generation of macOS, next June.

I've filed this feature request with Apple. It can be found at rdar://34787974.

This might deserve a "finally": Google Docs and Sheets now support Split View, a mere 10 months and 30 days after the iOS 9 feature appeared for iPad users.

I wrote about Google's second-class app citizenry back in January of 2016, citing the lack of Google updates as one of the big issues holding me back from committing to the iPad Pro to write full-time; while the company has made strides forward in improving its iOS apps, it was still missing a key component of true iPad multitasking: Split View.

That nightmare is now over, though officially only for users of iOS 9 — both apps' developer notes include the phrase "support on iPads running iOS 9", but I've been able to get devices both on the latest public beta and developer beta seed working with Split Screen. (After, it should be noted, a full iPad restart.)

There's still a lot I'd like to see from these apps — there's still no way to highlight multiple cells with keyboard commands, for example — but Split View is a huge step forward for the apps, and a step much appreciated by iPad users around the globe.

• Google Docs
• Google Sheets

The original iPad ran "iPhone OS", which shows how tightly coupled Apple's tablets have been with their phones. A few multitasking navigation gestures aside, it remained that way until iOS 9 introduced several new features specifically for the iPad. That includes slide over and split view apps, and picture-in-picture video. They're a huge step forward, but also a first step. So what would you like to see changed in iOS 10?

• More efficient app switcher for slide over and secondary (right) apps.
• More consistent app switcher for split view and primary (left) apps.
• Ability to quickly swap apps from primary (left) to secondary (right).
• Drag-and-drop content between primary (left) and secondary (right) apps.
• 30/70 split view with narrow primary (left) app.
• 50/50 split view in portrait mode.
• Horizontal split view for portrait mode.
• Multiple instances of same app (i.e. two Safari windows) in split view.
• Picture-in-picture-style remote view for apps.

I've long wanted iPad to benefit from iPadOS the way Watch and TV benefit from watchOS and tvOS. Multi-app multitasking brings that dream closer to reality, at least for apps if not for Home screen.

The challenge is to do it in such a way that it maintains accessibility and approachability for the mainstream. That adds capability without undue complexity. But iOS 10 (iOS X) is less than a year away, so what do you want from multi-app multitasking?

• How to use multi-app multitasking on the iPad

If you're running iOS 8 on your iPhone or iPad, it's never been easier to access the contacts you call and message the most. From most recent contacts to the people you've got marked as favorites, iOS 8 makes it quicker and easier than ever to get in touch with them.

How to access your favorite and most recent contacts in two taps with iOS 8

1. Double tap your Home button in order to launch the app switcher.
2. You'll see a list of your recent and favorite contacts along the top. Scroll from side to side in order to siphon through them.
3. Once you find the person you'd like to call, message, or FaceTime, tap on their contact bubble to expand your options.
4. Tap on the method you'd like to use to contact them.

That's it! Keep in mind that what contacts show in the app switcher can be customizing in Mail, Contacts, Calendars through the Settings app. If you use Favorite contacts frequently it may be more beneficial for you to disable recent contacts from showing so you always see a list of your favorites without having to scroll very far. You can also do the opposite and disable Favorite contacts if you choose.

iOS 7 includes even more gesture-based navigation shortcuts than ever, and that means, if you master them, you can navigate your apps, peek at information, and general get things done faster and more easily than ever before. Whether it's glancing or navigating back at your list in Mail or Messages, swiping up Control Center or down Notification Center, moving through your Safari history, or flinging away tabs or entire apps, with iOS 7 gestures, all the shortcuts you need are literally at your fingertips. Here's how to use them:

1. Calling Control Center and Notification Center

Notification Center has been accessible via a downward swipe from the top edge of the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad display for a while now. With iOS 7, the all new Control Center can be accessed via a swipe up from the bottom edge as well.

That works from anywhere in the system, though on full-screen apps you need to swipe twice - once to reveal the "handle" and a second time to activate the center itself. That's to stop you accidentally covering your game, movie, etc. If you really don't want to trigger Control Center accidentally, you can disable them from working inside apps, period. Also, if you're concerned about security, you can disable them from functioning on the lock screen - so no one can read your messages or take your device offline without authenticating first.

• How to access and start using Control Center in iOS 7
• How to disable access to Control Center from appearing within apps in iOS 7
• How to disable Control Center access on the iOS 7 Lock screen
• How to disable access to Siri and Passbook on the Lock screen

2. Peeking at, and navigating to, lists in Mail and Messages

Both Mail and iMessage include a new gesture that lets you either peek back at your messages list, or pull back to it entirely. From an individual message, simply touch the screen on the left edge and swipe right, and your full list of messages will appear. Pull back only slightly for a quick glimpse of the message list, or pull back all the way to switch to it entirely. You can also swipe from right to left on an individual message to access delete and other functions.

In the Mail app you can swipe back again to get your full list of mail accounts and folders, and in messages you can swipe right to glance at time stamps for individual messages.

• How to view timestamps for individual texts and iMessages in iOS 7

3. Swiping through history in Safari

With iOS 7, Safari gets gesture-based navigation all its own. Now, you can swipe from the left edge towards the right to go back to the previous page in your browser history, or from the right edge towards the left to go forward to the next page (if you've previously gone back). If you imagine following each link on a website adds another page to the stack, these gestures let you quickly move pages off of and onto the stack until you get to just exactly the one you need.

4. Tossing away cards and tabs

iOS 7 lets treat a lot more objects like objects, including and especially the new card interface for multitasking and the new rolodex interface for Safari. In both, when you trigger them, you can grab a screen and simply toss it away. From anywhere on the system, double click the Home button to bring up the new card interface for multitasking. Then just touch one app, two apps, or as many as three apps, and flick them up and off the screen. They'll quit and be one. In Safari, tap the bookmarks button, touch a tab, and flick it to the left to close it. Couldn't be simpler. You can even fling down passes in Passbook to get back to the wallet view.

• How to quit and kill (force quit) apps in iOS 7

5. Accessing Spotlight Search from any Home screen

While it might seem like iOS 7 banished Spotlight Search from the Home screen system, what it actually did was move it from its own screen off to the left, and integrate it into every screen. Now, instead of swiping the other way, you simply touch anywhere on the Home screen (except the top edge, that's reserved for Notification Center), and swipe down slightly. It works the same way search has worked inside apps for years. The screen drops down and the Spotlight field is revealed.

• How to find Spotlight search - and your apps! - in IOS 7

Bonus tip: iPad gesture navigation

The iPad and iPad mini also still include several, system-wide gesture shortcuts all their own. They make it incredibly quick and easy to move between apps, open the fast app switcher, and even return to the Home screen. To access the multitasking card interface, place four fingers on the screen and swipe up. To move between apps without having to click into the multitasking card first, place four fingers on the screen and swipe from right to left to go to the previous app, and from left to right to return to the next app. To return to the Home screen, place four fingers on the screen and pinch them in together.

You can also use the basic pinch to get back from a single photo to the new Moments view in the Photos, or back from single place view to multiplace list in the Weather app.

Your top iOS 7 tips?

Those are our top 5 secret shortcuts that make moving around the iOS 7 interface not only faster, but funner as well. If you've found other ways to save time, let us know how!

See a button. Tap a button. That's easy. Does just what it says on the tin. But when it comes to long-presses, more complex gestures, and other advanced multitouch controls, they can be hard to discover, challenging to remember, and otherwise a pain in the apps. But man alive, can they make using your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad faster! And once you get the hang of their multi-touch magic, not only won't you stop using them, you won't be able to wait to wow your friends and family!

1. How to quickly enter caps, numbers, punctuation, and more with the iPhone and iPad keyboard

At first glance using the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad keyboard can look like a chore. You have to hit keys to switch from lowercase to uppercase, from letters to numbers to symbols and back, and where the heck are the all the special characters? Luckily, Apple built in a lot of gesture shortcuts that make the typing experience on iOS significantly better. They're not always easy to discover or to remember, but once you have them down, you'll be typing faster than ever.

• How to quickly enter caps, numbers, punctuation, and more with the iPhone and iPad keyboard

2. How to quickly edit Siri to correct or change your question

Siri is a huge shortcut unto itself. There's no faster way to add Reminders to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, for example. You can even use Siri to find out how to better use Siri! What's not as widely known, however, is that if Siri ever gets something wrong, or you change your mind about something after you've already asked Siri, you can easily change the question and get a new answer. It may not always be as fast as just asking again, but if you'd rather type than talk, Siri gives you that option!

• How to quickly edit Siri to correct or change your question

3. How to quickly access your browsing history in Safari for iPhone or iPad

Safari on the iPhone and iPad is arguably the best mobile browsers on the planet. Not only do you have a great multitouch controls, iCloud tab sync and more, but it keeps a history of where you've been so you can easily go back when and if you want to check a page again. However, easily isn't always quickly, unless you know this great gesture shortcut for getting to your history and fast.

• How to quickly access your browsing history in Safari for iPhone or iPad

4. How to quickly access draft emails on the iPhone and iPad

If you're writing an email on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and you don't have time to finish, or you're simply not sure you're ready to send it yet, you can always save it as a draft and come back to it later. However, it can take a lot of hunting actually find that draft and get back to it! Luckily, iOS contains a gesture shortcut that can make tracking down all your draft emails a lot faster.

• How to quickly access draft emails on the iPhone and iPad

5. How to quickly change or move a Calendar event on iPhone and iPad

If you need to move a Calendar event or appointment around on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, you can do it by tapping the event and editing it the old fashioned - and really slow - way. Or you can do it using the really fast, really cool gesture shortcut that lets you literally drag and drop you schedule around!

• How to quickly change or move a Calendar event on iPhone and iPad

Bonus: How to quickly navigate on the iPad using multitouch gestures

The iPad and iPad mini include several, system-wide gesture shortcuts that make it incredibly quick and easy to move between apps, open the fast app switcher, and even return to the Home screen. They require four finger swipes and pinches, so they're not only hard to discover but can be a tricky to get right. Once you master them, however, you'll fly around your iPad.

• How to quickly navigate on the iPad using multitouch gestures

Your top iOS ninja tips?

Those are our top 5 secret shortcuts that make moving around the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad interface not only faster, but funner as well. If you've found other ways to save time, let us know how!

iOS 7 continues Apple's long history of gesture-based controls, some system-wide like the new swipe up from the bottom bezel to open Control Center, and some app (or multi-app) specific, like the new swipe right from the left bezel to travel back to the list views in Mail or Messages. Gesture controls can be tricky, however. If not direct they can be hard to discover, if not consistent they can be hard to habituate, and if not carefully considered they can collide and conflict with each other, both system-wide and app specific.

Here's what Apple has to say about some of the gestures in iOS 7.

And here's what Apple's shown off so far.

• Swipe up from the bottom to reveal Control Center

• Swipe right from the left bezel in Mail and Messages to pull back the list view hierarchy (go from message content to message list to, in Mail, message box).

• Swipe right from the left bezel to go back in history in Safari.

• Swipe left from the right bezel to go forwards in history in Safari (if you've previously gone back).
• Toss up to close an app from the multitasking switcher.

• Toss left to close a tab in Safari.

Apple also showed switching Camera modes by swiping between them, as well as previously existing gestures like swiping between days in the Calendar, images and videos in Photos, and there may be other gestures, both informational (peek) and navigational (change) that Apple hasn't yet shown off yet as well.

Like Notification Center, Control Center will colide with anything already using a swipe-up-from-the-bottom gesture. Hue, the app that controls Phillips' Hue lightbulbs, comes immediately to mind. In Hue, you currently swipe up to access controls for all the lights. That'll have to change, as will any other app that currently uses something similar.

Because the swipe-right gesture appears limited to certain apps, namely Mail and Messages, it won't collide with other apps already using that gesture. However, the way Apple is implementing the interface in iOS 7 in general, because of that gesture in Mail or Messages, could make other apps look odd. Especially ones that currently use the popular "hamburger button and basement sidebar" design (I'm looking at you Facebook, Google apps, etc.)

Even if iOS doesn't stomp all over them, if they look wrong, or simply feel wrong on iOS 7, they may be forced to change and become more Mail or Messages-like. (And that might not be a bad thing.)

The good news is that all of these are direct manipulations. The bad news is that they're not all consistent or symmetrical.

Direct manipulation vs. abstract commands

Broadly speaking, there are two types of gesture controls, direct manipulation and abstract commands. Direct manipulation is akin to interacting with a physical object. Tapping a virtual button works like tapping a real-world button. Touching and sliding a virtual panel works like touching and sliding a real-world panel. Turning a virtual page works like... you get the idea. There's a 1:1 relationship between action and result that, when well implemented, feels like you're doing it, not just triggering it. That's why they're more discoverable (you can often chance upon, and quickly come to understand them, through play), and more easily remembered. They also offer the potential to "peek" at information by only partially sliding a panel open or turning a page. However, the number of ways you can directly manipulate an interface element are inherently limited.

Abstract commands are when the gesture performed on the touchscreen has little or no relationship to the function it performs. There's no 1:1 relationship, and like a button you're ultimately watching rather than doing. Swiping on a screen, waiting, and then watching it change is an example of how simple yet visceral the difference can be. Yet, for things like games, tracing a pattern on the screen to cast a spell or invoke a special attack work wonderfully well. Abstract controls, however, because they're abstract and because they can be far more numerous than direct manipulation are nowhere nearly as discoverable (you almost always need to be told about them), and they require a lot of memorization.

There are hybrids as well. Multiple finger gestures add a level of abstraction to direct manipulation. An example would be swiping with one finger to move the content on screen, swiping with two fingers to move between screens, and swiping with three fingers to move between apps. Each one directly manipulates something, but you have to remember a modifier to control exactly which something you're manipulating.

As much as people like to joke about Apple hating buttons, and minimizing buttons on their devices, iOS has always had a lot of buttons. There's the hardware Home button, of course, which is always there, an escape hatch for every mainstream user that, with a single click, will always return them to a known state (the Home screen). Beyond that, iOS has and continues to use a plethora of software buttons (even if many of them are now being rendered more like text links in than the previous, simulated mechanical button style).

Yet iOS has also always made use of multitouch gestures. Indeed, one of the biggest attractions of the original iPhone was its implementation of swipe, pinch, flick, and other intuitive, direct manipulations. Abstract commands were also included early on, most famously swipe-to-delete.

With the iPad version of iOS, Apple introduced system-wide gesture navigation. With four fingers you could swipe sideways between apps, up to get to the fast app switcher, and pinch to get back to the Home screen. Consistent throughout the system, once familiar, they made moving around iOS faster and easier.Because the iPad navigation gestures came later, however, they collided with some of the gestures already implemented by developers. The classic joke became Fruit-Ninja-ing your way out of the game and into Mail.

Apple didn't, and hasn't yet brought them to the iPhone, ostensibly because 4-finger gestures would be prohibitive on the smaller screen, and no obvious alternative presented itself.

Notification Center, which brought edge-gestures to iOS, caused similar collision problems with apps that had already implemented a downward swipe for their own controls. (Some mitigation was possible thanks to an intercept that only presented the grabber for Notification Center on first swipe, requiring a second swipe to "confirm" and actually pull it down.)

Fast camera access in iOS 6 let you swipe up from the bottom to get to the Camera app. However, since it was limited to the Lock screen, Apple had full control of the experience.

All this to say that simple, direct manipulations tend to be robust and easy to remember and make a lot of sense on the system-level, while abstract gestures are fiddly, tough to remember, and make more sense as advanced shortcuts for power users and gamers.

Apple, not surprising, sticks almost entirely to direct manipulation for iOS and relegates abstract controls to accessibility, where quantity trumps all other concerns.

The case for consistency

Where iOS 7 appears to be more problematic is in its consistency. Direct manipulations are more easily discovered, but in order for them to be habituated they need to be consistent. Notification Center is the perfect example. Any time, from anywhere, you can swipe down and what happens is exactly what you expect to happen - it appears.

Control Center should be the same. That it overlaps with fast camera access on the Lock screen is unfortunate and slightly awkward, but it shouldn't be hugely problematic. (The iOS 7 Lock screen has far bigger problems to fix right now anyway.)

The sideways gestures are where iOS 7 starts running into problems. First, because they're only implemented in specific apps, they require the user to remember which apps include them. Worse, because they're implemented inconsistently and asymmetrically across apps, they require the user to remember what they do in each app. That's a high cognitive burden.

For example, in Safari - and in Photos, Calendar, Weather, and other apps before it - swiping from left to right takes you back a screen in the sequence, and swiping right to left takes you forward. That's logical and symmetrical. Even Camera, where swiping changes modes, moves through the modes in sequence and remains consistent.

However, in Mail and Messages, swiping from left to right doesn't take you back through the sequence of messages, but up in the message hierarchy. You swipe back from message to message list to - in mail alone - message list box. Where it gets more challenging is swiping from right to left, because not only doesn't that take you forward through the sequence, it doesn't take you deeper into the hierarchy either. What it does do is switch from direct manipulation to quasi-abtract command, revealing a destructive action - delete. That's not only a massive cognitive change, but its asymmetrical (swiping different directions results in massively different behaviors), and its inconsistent with other apps.

Photos can have hierarchies with albums, Calendar days with months, so there's some overlap, but Apple's recognizing that hierarchies in Messages and Mail are far more important in real-world use cases than they are in other apps, and re-assigning the gesture. They're also keeping it simple by not, for example, leaving a one finger swipe to move through sequences of messages and using a two-finger swipe to move back to the hierarchy. That's understandable and, in a world filled with trade-offs, sensible.

Switching from direct manipulation to go back to abstract command to delete is less understandable and sensible, but more a reflection of a legacy control Apple's been using since iOS 1 (iPhone OS 1.0).

In a perfect world swiping from right to left from the edge would move you into whatever message your touching, while touching a message and holding would allow you to delete it, much like cards and tabs. Apple has used modal gestures before, for example an edit button that changes an upward movement from the general scroll gesture to a specific item re-arranging gesture. It adds complexity but also functionality. Detect if the gesture started at or near the edge, and if so make it navigation. If not, if it started on the meaty part of an item in a list, make it editorial. It will require learning, but not much.

As to fast Camera access on the Lock screen, having top, left, and bottom + bottom-offset gestures seems less well balanced that having top, left, bottom, and right gestures. Swiping one way to unlock and the other to enable fast actions, Camera now, who knows what else later, might be a workable trade off.

The most important thing is consistency. Unless and until a swipe takes you back in every app where there's something to go back to, it'll always be harder to remember and become habituated to. Unless and until a forward swipe does something in every app where there's a backward swipe, and there's something to forward to, likewise.

For gestures to really become intuitive and mainstream, they have to always be where they're expected, and always do as expected. And when compromises have to be made, they have to make sense under the circumstances.

iOS 7 is a great start, but it still feels a lot like a start.

iOS 7 gestures

Gestures are an incredibly rich, incredibly deep topic that's difficult to write about and far, far, far more difficult to design and develop. A lot of supremely talented people are working on implementing them, and things like pinch-to-zoom have shown, when done right, they can quickly become integral parts of mainstream computing.

iOS 7 gestures will ship with the rest of the update sometime this fall. In the meantime, let me know what you think - which gestures do you prefer, and how would you like to see them implemented?

• Iterate 22: Gesture based interface
• iOS 7: Everything you need to know
• iOS 7: Discussion forum

iOS 7 finally brings multitasking to everyone on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. And by everyone, I mean every app, at practically any time. Of course, iOS has always had fantastic multitasking. From the very first demo of the very first iPhone by Steve Jobs in 2007, its ability to fade music out, take a phone call, grab a picture and email it, then return to the phone call, hang up, and fade right back into the music seemed miraculous to the crash-prone competition of the time.

Then the App Store happened, and all those third-party apps weren't allowed anywhere near the background. Things changed in 2010 with iOS 4, when streaming music, VoIP, and turn-by-turn navigation were granted persistent access to multitasking, and many other apps were given a few minutes of leeway, and the ability to go to sleep and restart, theoretically, right where they left off. But it wasn't enough.

Thanks to some system-side smarts, however, it looks like iOS 7, along with a new interface, will make good on the multitasking promise while at the same time protect battery life and performance. If they can do it, they'll be the first to really nail multitasking on mobile.

Here's how Apple describes multitasking in iOS 7:

And on Apple's developer portal{.nofollow}:

Based on what Apple's shown off at WWDC 2013 and on the web to date, here's how the new interface, and the new functionality works:

• Accessing multitasking still requires a double click of the Home button, which is consistent for existing users but probably not as intuitive as the upward swipe seen on some other platforms. (And which Control Center has just taken on iOS.)
• The old Fast App Switcher tray has been replaced with a new card-based interface. It looks a lot like webOS cards, though iOS Safari Pages used that mechanic first. It lacks the Stacks functionality of later versions of webOS, but it does retain the icons of the Fast App Switcher which greatly increases glance-ability.
• Thanks to the new card-based interface, apps can be closed by touching them and tossing them away, again like webOS. Apple hasn't said if multiple cards can be tossed away at once, though iOS is multitouch and up to three cards can appear on the screen at one time...

• Intelligent scheduling means that, if you use an app frequently - for example, if you check Facebook or Twitter constantly - iOS 7 will recognize that and allow the app to update frequently so whenever you launch it, it'll have all the latest information already waiting for you. If you use an app regularly but not frequently - for example, if you check the news when you wake up and before you go to sleep - iOS 7 will recognize that as well and allow the app to update just before you usually check it.
• Opportunistic updates takes advantage of the many times a day you unlock your device and power up the system - for any reason - to allow apps to access background cycles.
• Adapting to network conditions means that, whenever a radio signal is strong and power use is at a minimum, iOS 7 will allow updates that need that radio.
• Coalesced updates recognizes that when one app powers up a radio, other apps can tag along and get their background requests done as well.
• Push triggers fixes the years-old problem of getting a notification only to go to the app and not find the data there. Now, in iOS 7, the notification itself will trigger the update, hopefully retrieving data just before you arrive at the app.

Mobile multitasking is all about compromise. You either limit what can be done by apps, or you limit the battery life of the device running them. With iOS 7, Apple is trying to have their background and their battery life too, and they're using a lot of super-smart technology to achieve it. Instead of simply allowing persistent, pre-emptive multitasking like OS X does on the desktop, and like how some competitors do on mobile, Apple is recognizing that they have neither a power cable plugged into the wall, or a desire to offload battery and task management to their users, and they're deploying a just-in-time system to get the best of both worlds.

Perception is reality. Until we open an app, we have no way of knowing whether it was updated or not. So, iOS 7 will keep track of when we open apps and try and update them just-in-time so that, when we get there, our data is ready and waiting for us, and not us for it. Intelligent scheduling should make sure that most of the time, most of our apps are updated, however it remains to be seen what will happen when infrequently used apps are opened?

Perhaps the other systems will kick in then. Opportunistic updates, whether they're because we've turned on our iPhone, iPod, or iPad, or the radios have locked onto a good, strong signal, or another app is firing up a radio and letting hitchhikers come along for the ride, there should be plenty of chances for plenty of apps to update when they'll have the least impact on the system but the most on making sure our data is present for when we want and need it.

Likewise, updating on push notification is huge. Many times I've had to go back to Notification Center to try and glean as much as I can from the tiny preview text in an alert because the actual message is taking so long to actually come in. Now, the notification itself will tell the app to update, and hopefully it'll be quick about it.

Whether this applies to content as well as data is unclear. Apple hasn't said anything publicly yet about whether episodic or periodical content can "wake up" the system and cause a download in advance of our going to look for it. Newsstand works that way now, and rumors of Apple's iTunes and Podcasts apps getting the same ability have persisted since iOS 6. Come release, will we see that kind of update functionality everywhere? What exactly developers will be able to do, and what they'll be able to figure out around it, remains to be seen.

The new interface, however, is wicked obvious. The Fast App Switcher was never a great solution. Apple reportedly tested other metaphors for iOS 4 before they settled on it, including something like OS X Expose, but Safari Pages, not to mention webOS cards, was always the most sensible solution. Cards not only match the physicality of iOS 7 in general, they're something almost everyone is familiar with already.

Not that it looks perfect yet. Making Home a card might help ensure mainstream users aren't confused about how to find Home, but there's a Home button for that. All it does in card view is ruin the metaphor and complicate the mechanics.

In webOS, every instance of an app could have a card. For example, you could have multiple web pages open at the same time in card view, or multiple email message drafts ready and waiting. There's an argument to be made that one app, one card is simpler, but it's also less powerful. webOS used Stacks to even better organize workflows. Again, greater complexity, but greater functionality.

Tossing cards away is also a much better model than iOS 4 - iOS 6 implemented. Holding icons down until they jiggle, and tapping tiny X icons, conflating app deletion on the Home screen, wasn't great for anybody.

The addition of the icons to the card view in iOS 7 is a huge win, however. Cards capture static views from the apps they represent, but those views might not be recognizable. Icons are made to be recognizable, even at a glance. Cards and icons together provide both information and discoverability. Back before iOS 6, I and many others hoped for a better fast app switcher and for the most part, Apple exceeded those hopes.

And it can only get better from here.

The updated multitasking interface and functionality will ship as part of iOS 7 this fall. Check out the resources below for more, and let me know - is iOS 7 multitasking everything you wanted it be? Did Apple strike the right balance, or is something still missing?

• Multitasking: Everything you need to know
• iOS 7: Everything you need to know
• iOS 7: Discussion forum

The Home button is the most used and arguably the most important button on the iPhone. For everyone new to smartphones and to mobile computing, it's an escape hatch that they can press at any time, any where, and immediately be returned to a safe, familiar place. For more experienced users, it's a way to activate everything from Spotlight to Siri, the fast app switcher to the accessibility menu. Because the Home button serves so many purposes, for so many people, the mechanical switch itself is subject to an incredibly high level of use, and potential for wear and tear. That's why, more than any other physical button, the Home button has been a source of problems over the years, for Apple and consumers.

The original iPhone

The original iPhone debuted in 2007, and it introduced the Home button design, base functionality, and its rounded rectangular icon.

The original iPhone’s Home button was not part of the physical display assembly, but part of the docking assembly. Getting to it was no easy task and made repairing it extremely difficult.

When looking at failure rates, the original iPhone didn’t have nearly as many failure rates as more recent generations of iPhones, but many of the more taxing software features, the ones requiring double and triple taps, had yet to be introduced.

The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

The iPhone 3G debuted in 2008 and the 3GS followed in 2009. Both models were extremely similar when it came to the Home button. Rather than being part of the dock connector assembly, as it was in the original iPhone, it was part of the display assembly.

The display assembly in both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS is separated into two parts, the frame assembly and the glass assembly. One could be replaced without the other. Considering the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS opened from the front, the display assembly was extremely easy to remove. Since the Home button was part of the frame on the display, a faulty Home button assembly was also extremely easy to repair.

Apple Retail would simply replace the entire front assembly, including the LCD, which in most cases would restore Home button functionality (unless the fault was with the contact point on the dock underneath).

For the most part, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS Home button also didn’t have too many issues when it came to Home button. But again, many of the more Home button intensive features hadn't yet been introduced.

The iPhone 4

The iPhone 4, released in the summer of 2010, brought with it a completely redesigned iPhone with a sleeker, slimmer profile. Because of the new design, however, the iPhone 4 had to be opened from the back, once again making the Home button more difficult to replace.

To make matters worse, the iPhone 4 was also the first iPhone with the fast app switcher interface, which was activated by double pressing the Home button. That made Home button usage spike, and saw Home button failures spike along with it.

The iPhone 4 Home button also used a flex cable, which introduced an additional point of failure. Thanks to that cable, in some instances the Home button would stop working complete. In others, double presses would be mis-identified as single presses. That's because the The Home button flex cable in the iPhone 4 relied on the Home button being able to depress and “click” the disc-like metal contact on the cable underneath. Over time, that disc was worn down and became less reliable as a connection point.

It’s an issue we still continue to see today with both the GSM and CDMA variants of the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4S

Overall, not much changed with the iPhone 4-like iPhone 4S. However, did decide to secure the actual Home button to the display assembly with a rubber gasket and some adhesive. The underlying cable went untouched for the most part. It still connected to the dock connector in the same fashion and wove through the midframe to the front where the Home button sat on top of it.

The area that gets depressed and flattens over time was still the same disc mechanism, and thus prone to the same failures as the iPhone 4.

Interestingly, Apple also added Assistive Touch to iOS at the same time, which were meant to allow users with accessibility issues to use on-screen, virtual controls instead of hardware buttons. However, it also helped out-of-warranty owners who'd experienced hardware Home button failures.

The iPhone 5

Apple’s current iPhone 5, brought with it an even thinner profile. Not only was the iPhone 5 Home button completely flush to the glass in every unit, it had a different “feel” to it. It was obvious Apple had done some work on it.

Similar to the iPhone 4S, the physical Home button was attached to the screen but with a much stronger and sturdy rubber gasket that left little room for a gap between the glass and button. Apple also took an extra step andput a metal shield down over the gasket.

Unfortunately, underneath the shield is the same, old, troubled ribbon cable. Apple did add some some yellow tape to better pad and secure it, but it remains to be seen how much, if any difference this makes to cable wear and tear over the long term.

A metal disc contact that is pressed time and time again, sometimes for 2 or more years, will wear down, and eventually fail. When you only give users one way to exit apps, multitask, or activate accessibility options, you have to put your hardware where your button presses are. Apple simply isn’t doing this.

Home buttons of the future

We are now six years into the iPhone product cycle and quickly approaching a seventh iteration, yet Apple keeps repeating the same mistake when it comes to the Home button. It’s too early to tell if a metal shield and a bit of yellow tape will solve past woes caused by the Home button when it comes to the iPhone 5, but my gut tells me that the answer will be no. In the mean time, iPhone 4S Home button issues are starting to rear their ugly heads.

It begs the question, is there really a logical hardware solution? Cables and components will fail over time. No physical hardware put into packages as thin and small as Apple insists on making are rugged enough, and have redundancies enough, to last. While I think Apple could be trying harder when it comes to Home button issues, I’m skeptical as to whether it's a problem that can be solved by hardware alone.

There's only one real solution -- software.

Features like Assistive Touch show that Apple has experimented with virtual gestures to replace hardware functionality. The iPad version of iOS even comes with a fairly good set of gesture-based navigation controls, including 4-finger swipes between apps and to reveal the fast app switcher, and a four finger pinch to return to the Home screen. Minimal as they are, they remove a lot of the navigational burden from the Home button, especially from power users who are most likely to know of, and use those features.

Apple, however, doesn't currently offer similar gesture controls on the iPhone. In order to get anything like that, you need to jailbreak and install Zephyr. (And some people jailbreak just to install Zephyr, just because of hardware Home button failure.

This year may or may not bring a lot in terms of iPhone hardware revisions, but we are certainly hoping that some major changes to iOS and iCloud are in store.

The Home button controls a lot of the software actions we use every day in iOS and it becomes frustrating when the hardware lets us down. So perhaps it's time that the iPhone, like the iPad before it, has the same -- or hopefully even better -- gesture-based navigation options to share duty with the Home button.

That would let mainstream users keep pressing an easy to find, easy to understand hardware Home button, but also allow more advanced, more sophisticated users to enjoy a more advanced, more sophisticated form of navigation as well. The iPhone would get to stay less stressful for the mainstream, but become more useful and more reliable for power users.

It would also start introducing the concept of a gestures to a larger audience, in case one day Apple decides to introduce an iPhone -- or smaller device -- that doesn't have room or need for a physical Home button.

What will Apple bring to iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with iOS 6? What will be the "tentpole" features to take Apple's mobile software into 2013? With WWDC 2012 coming in just over a week, and an iOS 6 beta widely expected to come with it, now's the perfect time to take a look and see what makes sense.

We've already seen some of what is likely coming in iOS 6, including a new version of the Maps app that replaces Google data with Apple data. It wouldn't surprise us in the least if it brings turn-by-turn navigation with it either, by way of Siri...

But what else could Apple bring with iOS 6?

Making smart choices

No company can do everything at once. Opportunity cost means that when you spend time developing feature A, you can't spend that same time also developing feature B. Even if you pull engineers from other projects, even if you work around the clock, there are limits to how much any company, even Apple, can do at one time. You have to choose. The key is choosing smartly.

When Apple launched the original iPhone in 2007, it didn't have many of the traditional features that established smartphone platforms had for years already. But it didn't matter. The revolution in user interface was enough that people simply didn't care (or were willing to carry two devices to make up for it.)

Obviously, prioritizing the multitouch interface was the right choice to make.

Apple then proceeded to add back those smartphone staples. Among other things, iOS 2 (then iPhone OS 2) got the App Store, iOS 3 got MMS (outside the U.S.), video, push notifications, and copy and paste, iOS 4 got folders, better email, and limited 3rd party multitasking, iOS 5 got better notifications, Siri voice control, and went PC free with iCloud.

The rest of the industry didn't stand still, however. Android was released and is now at version 4.x, Ice Cream Sandwich, with more on the way. Palm rebooted with webOS, and while their business failed, their interface work was more than impressive. Microsoft rebooted with Windows Phone and let the world know that some people in Redmond did indeed have taste. And now RIM is poised to reboot with BlackBerry 10, and take gesture-based phone interfaces to the next level.

Interestingly, many of the newly rebooted operating systems lacked -- and some still lack -- all the features of their predecessors. And because they rebooted, Apple's iOS, once the new smartphone operating system on the block, is now one of the oldest.

That doesn't mean Apple can and should replicate each and every feature of their competitors. I'd argue many of the ones listed below shouldn't be copied, perhaps shouldn't even be re-imagined with an iOS twist. But they should be considered. Apple is famous for saying "no" more than they say "yes", but they're just as famous for the arduous design and prototyping process they go through to get there.

In fact, as we approach iOS 6, Apple might have already reached feature parity, and it might be hard to look at other platforms and see what else needs to be matched -- that there's no longer any low hanging fruit.

But what about the (slightly) higher hanging fruit?

What iOS could take from Android

Android isn't a singular phenomena the way the iPhone is. There are multiple versions of Android currently on the market, and multiple manufacturer interfaces layered on top of them. Still, there are a few common threads in Android that iOS could draw inspiration from.

The current iOS Home screen system (Springboard) is an app launcher. With very few exceptions, an icon on an app launcher tells you only which app will launch when and if you tap it. They're static images and there's typically no information about the current state of the app, or any relevant data beyond the static image.

In the case of Apple's iOS, Calendar will show you the current date on its icon, and Apple created a badging system to overlay the number of outstanding alerts an app has pending. But that's it. With Notification Center, with a little extra effort, you can pull down snippets of those alerts, and see widgets for Weather and Stocks. However, the level of immediately available, glanceable data remains low.

While Apple has widgets in Notification Center and Siri, Android lets you pin them to Home screens as well.

The iOS Home screen isn't designed as a place to hang around, but as a launcher to get you quickly into apps. With widgets, however, you don't have to get into apps to get high level data, and sometimes that's more efficient. If rumors of a 16:9, 4-inch iPhone are to be believed, there could also be an extra 117 pixels on the Home screen to house a swipe-able widget space.

Here are some more examples and concepts for what Apple could do to with the Home screen, both in general and if they do go with a 4-in, 16:9 display.

• Is it time for Apple to revamp the Home screen?
• The 16:9 iPhone

Direct file access

If I start writing an email in iOS, then decide I want to attach a document, I can't. It's not just difficult, it's impossible. Even if I trash the email, go to a document app, and share via email, I can only share what's in that app. I simply can't attach a Keynote, PDF, and image file to an email in iOS. I can only send out a bunch of emails, from a bunch of apps, with the document they support.

Likewise, If I have a text document in iOS, I have no way to directly access that text document. I have to go to an app and hope that I can access the document from that app. If I created a text document in Simple Note, I have to remember I created it in Simple Note because chances are I can't easily open it in Drafts, much less in Apple's Notes app. If I have a Document in the Cloud, it's the same problem only worse. I can't just see Documents in the Cloud. I have to keep a mental list of what I've created over time and their associations, which is a lot of overhead for something that's supposed to be simple.

A document picker, done almost exactly the same way iOS currently handles the image picker, and a Files.app with an interface in the same spirit as the Photos.app would go a long way to making iOS more convenient. Here are some examples:

• How Apple could provide direct document access in iOS 6

Right now if an app, any app, even a built-in Apple app, wants to know your location, it has to ask for permission. If it wants to send you Push Notifications, it has to ask for permission. If it wants to access Twitter integration, it has to ask for permission. If it wants access to any of your personal information, however, like Contacts, it doesn't have to ask at all.

Just like with Push Notifications back before iOS 5, however, the popup requester system doesn't scale. If you launch a new Twitter app for the first time, you get popup after popup, asking you to tap to approve Twitter account access, location, and Push Notification. Imagine when Contact access, Calendar access, and conceivably other information is added to the list. As the number of popups grow, the likelihood that a user will read and consider each one falls precipitously. They'll just start tapping through to get to their app.

Here's an attempt at a better solution beyond popups, and beyond Android's overkill, using a permissions sheet:

• iOS 6 and privacy: How Apple should draw inspiration from Android for better app permissions

More personalization options

Android has a stock interface, but with manufacturer layers like Sense, TouchWhiz, and Blur, alternative keyboards like SwiftKey and Swype, and many other options, you can usually change the appearance of your phone.

Apple won't be making a Theme Store any time soon, but they could increase customization options in Settings, even if only for the Home screen and built-in apps (UIKit). Rather than Aqua and Graphite like OS X, they could even call upon iOS conventions...

Here are some examples of the default iOS interface (UIKit) made-over in felt, leather, linen, wood, silver, and more.

• iOS 6: A fresh coat of paint

What iOS could take from BlackBerry

The traditional BlackBerry OS is a dinosaur soon to go the way of the dinosaurs, but there's still a few things iOS could learn from the old beast. Likewise, BlackBerry 10 won't be out until later this fall -- maybe around the same time as iPhone 5 and iOS 6 -- but what little we've seen of it shows potential.

What if I want my iPhone to beep and buzz if my wife calls, but to go dead silent if it's my mother-in-law? What if I want different tones or vibration patterns for work and personal email, or for my boss's or partner's email? What if I want notifications to demand my attention during the day, but mute themselves and let me sleep at night? What if I want a work-centric set of options when I'm at the job site, but a I don't want work following me home? While iOS currently has per-app settings for notifications, it doesn't have anywhere near BlackBerry's level of granularity.

That leaves implementing more specific settings up to individual apps, like Tweetbot and it's sleep options. iOS could handle that, both globally (a Notifications on/off toggle), per Contact, and including time and location.

(And, in the name of all that's civilized, there should be a way to suppress notifications when on a call so we no longer feel the shock of an unexpected tone/vibe combo punch to the ear.)

Arguably this might all be better handled as part of a greater iOS time- and location-based profile system that includes additional elements like network settings, Home screen layouts, and more but functionality always needs to be balanced by simplicity. While more granular notification options sound more complex, examples already exist in iOS -- like per-Contact ringtones -- that could be built out.

With BlackBerry 10, RIM is trying to solve the problem of maintaining one-handed ease-of-use on larger screen sizes. For example, reaching all the way to the top of the screen to pull down the Notification Center shade is just doable for most users on a 3.5 inch screen, but as screens blow past 4 inches and approach 5, it breaks down. Like on the iPad's 9.6 inch screen, it requires a second hand.

RIM is relying far more heavily on gestures as a way around this. Start swiping with your thumb from offscreen to on, and a transitional notification bar comes up letting you "peek" at your alerts. Keep swiping, and it takes you into the messaging center where you can handle them. Swipe the other way, and you're in the app switcher grid, and then the app launcher.

Gestures are typically much harder to discover than buttons, and suffer from the potential for collision between system and app, (e.g. trying to slash something in Fruit Ninja and ending up in Mail), and the limits of manual dexterity and accuracy on small screen sizes.

That's probably why Apple restricted gesture shortcuts to the iPad in iOS 5 (and to developers only in iOS 4). However, there should be a balance that can be reached where gestures allow more advanced, adept users to more quickly navigate and triage elements of the OS and apps, even if the gestures to do so remain gross and few.

What iOS could take from webOS

webOS debuted at CES 2009 and was shown off by former Apple executive, Jon Rubenstein. It was the most impressive mobile product introduction since the iPhone in 2007, in part because Palm seemed to specifically target things the iPhone wouldn't, or couldn't yet do. And to this day, webOS still does some of those things better than iOS.

The current iOS fast app switcher does a good job listing open apps by putting them in a horizontally scrollable list, sorted in reverse chronological order. It does a great job making them easy to visually distinguish by using their icons. It does an okay job making them quick to switch between -- great if they're chronologically proximate, like jumping back and forth between two to four apps. (It's basically alt/cmd + tab for mobile, with some controls thrown in.) It also lets you kill apps.

webOS uses a metaphor called Cards, the early implementations of which showed one app or window (e.g. a website or email) in very similar fashion to iPhone Safari Pages. You could horizontally swipe between them but could also, very naturally, touch and flick a Card away to close an app or window. Palm later expanded the Cards visualization beyond what Apple did with Safari Pages by introducing Stacks in webOS 2.0.

It's a more approachable, more informational way of showing open apps and their state, and a more natural way of navigating and closing them. That's probably why Apple chose it for Safari Pages in iOS 1., and why almost every major OS uses some variation of it today. It's also probably why Apple supposedly experimented with a grid-based, Exposé version of it in iOS 4 before settling on the current, Dock-based model.

As the iPhone continues to evolve, and the mainstream market becomes more mobile-sophisticated, it could be worth re-assessing fast app switching on iOS.

Here's a more complete rundown of the history of fast app switching in mobile, and what some of those concepts might look like rendered in iOS.

• iOS 6: Is it time for Apple to revamp the multitasking fast app switcher?

My iCloud, Gmail, and Exchange contacts currently sit in the Contacts tab of my Phone app and in the Contacts app proper. My Twitter contacts have been recently integrated with them, but my Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social contacts still live in their own apps, though they can impregnate themselves into my Contacts app resulting in varying levels of chaos and confusion. It's a mess.

webOS Synergy handles this much, much more elegantly. You enter you account info, much as you do for email and Twitter in iOS now, but also Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sources that plug in to the system. Then all of that information is kept in neat silos behind the scenes, but presented as a unified view in the interface. I don't have to care where any particular bit of data comes from -- Gmail, Facebook, whatever -- I just see it all in one place, and any time any of those sources update, I see the updates.

Taking it a step further, messaging could be unified as well. Rather than having to go from Messages to Twitter to Facebook to Mail to see what Leanna is saying, a unified view of recent public status updates and private messages could be presented.

If I said something, and a contact of mine wants to find it, it makes a lot more sense for them to go right to my card than than to jump to and scour through a half dozen separate apps.

webOS still handles the arrival of notification banners, and the subsequent stacking of them, in a more elegant manner than iOS. But there seems like much more that could be done.

Currently, in iOS, notifications aren't actionable within the notification system. I can't "quick view" a Tweet or a Facebook message, I have to go to the Twitter or Facebook app. I can't "quick reply" to them in-app, I have to go back to the associated apps to respond. That either causes me to ignore messages I may not really wish to ignore, or to wrench myself out of what I'm doing to go handle them immediately.

By contrast, jailbreak apps like BiteSMS let you quickly respond to a text no matter which app you're in. Your app (or game) pauses, a text entry box is overlayed, you enter your message, you hit send, and you're current app resumes. With apps like LockInfo, you see an email notification, and you can tap a button, and read it without even unlocking your device.

Those may seem like subtle differences -- a pause of state rather than change of state and back -- but in practice it's far more efficient. It reduces a lot of friction, and makes the experience far, far better.

Here's some more behind the idea:

• iOS 6 wants: The opposite of widgets

What iOS could take from Windows Phone

Currently the only way for iOS apps to exchange information is via the limited URL schemes protocol. Some amazing things can and have been done with it, perhaps none better than Launch Center and the upcoming Launch Center Pro. However, developers and users keep knocking their heads against that "limited" part.

Windows Phone 8 will employ something called "contracts", which will allow sandboxed apps to communicate with each other under certain, secure circumstances. For example, Instagram could present itself as a camera option, Sparrow as an email client, Elements as a text editor.

Then, other apps can hand off to those apps when they want or need to. We already see this done as a work around in iOS, for example, Tweetbot now gives you the option to take a photo with Camera+ instead of the built in Camera app, if you have Camera+ installed. The aforementioned Launch Center lets you tap a button to jump into an app and start an action, for example launch Tweetbot right into the new tweet sheet, or launch Safari right into a specific search.

It's tough to see Apple letting users set their own default apps, for example, set an alternate default browser to Safari. However, it's easier to see Apple creating a more robust system for inter-app communications than URL schemes.

Microsoft is still kicking and screaming its way out of decades of disparate, non-interoperable systems, but they're starting to get it right. Xbox Live is an example of that. Sure, it costs a silly $50 a year for the far more useful Gold version, but it's otherwise well executed and is being pushed from TV to mobile with increasing efficiency.

Sure, Microsoft botched things badly by not calling their new mobile devices Xphones and having Halo-branded, Halo playing versions available at launch, but what they lack in smarts they make up for in tenacity.

Luckily for them, gaming is something Apple doesn't yet "get". But Apple's also showing signs that might change. Apple has already announced they're bringing Game Center to OS X Mountain Lion, for example.

But it needs to do more. Game Data sync, via iCloud, across devices is a start. If I'm playing Angry Birds on iPhone, I should be able to pick up my iPad and keep going, and then switch to Mac and keep on keeping on.

Cross-platform multiplayer will be a must-have soon as well. If I'm at the coffee shop gunning in N.O.V.A on my iPhone, I should be able to pwn Chad at home on his iMac, and Georgia at work on her iPad. (And, eventually, Simon on his Apple TV as well.) And hey, voice chat and beacons to let friends know what you're doing, and when, and to talk while doing it, would be nifty.

It's a lot of heavy lifting, but it's heavy stuff that needs to be lifted. (And yeah, I wouldn't say no to niftier avatars either.)

Better non-gaming network

Xbox live, wisely, wasn't called Xbox Gaming Live, because it's used for more than just gaming. All of Microsoft's living room ambitions are channeled through it, from Netfilx to social parties.

Even less than Apple gaming, Apple has repeatedly shown they don't understand social yet. Apple chose not to call their network Apple Live, but Game Center, for example. And they released Ping. But they do seem to know it's important. They're partnering with Twitter and might one day partner with Facebook. But Apple tends to like to own core technology.

iCloud is a good example and a good start towards a personal cloud. It needs an accompanying social cloud. Not just for sharing personal data like Calendars and Photo Streams with spouses and partners, but to share everything -- movie watching, music listening, app usage. Everything.

What iOS could take from jailbreak

Instead of competing platforms, Apple can also draw inspiration from their own platform -- as it's been tweaked and modified by jailbreak developers. They've done it before, so there's no reason they can't do it again.

A lot of it is similar to what I've already listed above -- the jailbreak community has been picking the slightly higher hanging fruit for years and years. The way they've implemented it is often different, however, and often several different implementations exist. That makes it an incredibly fertile ground, and a free, pro-level beta pool for Apple when it comes to large scale testing deployments of new features and interfaces.

Here's more on what Apple could explore from the jailbreak community this time around:

• Jailbreak concepts Apple should implement in iOS 6

What iOS could take from OS X

For a while now Apple has been working to take iOS "Back to the Mac" -- to take what worked best in iOS in general, and the iPad in specific back to the Mac. To make an Apple experience that's more consistent across their two platforms.

But how about a little quid pro quo? There are several aspects of OS X, including some of what's being implemented in Mountain Lion, that would be great to see in iOS.

The thing most power iPhone users have dreamed of since the original, no-third-party-apps iPhone launched in 2007 -- the thing that led to the jailbreak scene -- is the ability to side-load apps. The ability to run apps not approved by Apple. The ability to run app that come from outside the App Store.

With Gatekeeper in OS X Mountain Lion, users have a choice -- run only App Store apps, run App Store apps and non-App Store apps signed by identified developers, and run any app, no matter where it comes from. The App Store provides a lot of security -- it minimizes the chance for malware or other malicious software. It creates user trust. Non-App Store apps signed by identified developers is a good middle-ground, however. They don't need Apple approval but if any of them are found to be malicious, their certificate can be revoked.

Unfortunately, I don't think Apple would do this. It wouldn't really change the type of apps that are available -- for example, the system-level hacks of jailbreak -- and it would almost certainly lead to developers cutting Apple out of the 30% share of app sales Apple takes to maintain the App Store. Apple has shown they're not fond of end runs around the App Store for subscriptions, and they'd likely be even less so for paid apps.

• FaceTime conference calls. Like the iChat that Mountain Lion kills off, the big iPad screen -- especially a Retina display on a quad-core iPad 3! -- should allow for multi-person calling.
• Print to PDF. A built-in PDF printer option, perhaps added to AirPrint, that goes right to Documents in the Cloud, would be great for everything from Mail to Safari.
• Per-account mail signatures. No reason the current signature setting can't be moved down a step in the Settings hierarchy. Work and play can't always have the same signature.
• Top Sites for Safari. I could do without the forced curve effect, but quickly getting my most common sites as thumbnails is very convenient.
• Development options. Beyond Xcode, HTML5, and cross-compilers, support for other development options exists on OS X but not iOS.
• AirDrop. Quickly send files (from Files.app!) or photos from one iOS or OS X device to another over local Wi-Fi.

Here's more on what Apple could take from OS X and bring "Back to the iPhone and iPad":

• Back to the iPad: What Apple should take from OS X Mountain Lion and give to iOS 6

Conclusion

Operating systems are like art -- you add material then take away what you don't need. You add features and trim away bloat. While iOS may now be one of the older, more mature mobile operating systems, it's not perfect.

Just like OS X, Apple will keep adding features, then it will pause and re-soldify like it did with Snow Leopard, then focus anew like Lion and Mountain Lion.

The question is -- what will they do this time with iOS 6? Apple may or may not have plucked all the low hanging fruit in previous releases, but they haven't plucked all the fruit hanging just a slight bit higher. And they certainly haven't finished polishing it.

• iOS 6: A fresh coat of paint
• iOS 6: Is it time for Apple to revamp the multitasking fast app switcher?
• The 16:9 iPhone
• The 4 inch iPhone
• How Apple could provide direct document access in iOS 6
• iOS 6 and the opposite of widgets
• Is it time for Apple to revamp the Home screen?
• The challenge of bringing Siri to the iPad
• iOS 6 and privacy: How Apple should draw inspiration from Android for better app

At Macworld 2007 Steve Jobs showed off mobile Safari's Page switching interface, but despite the operating system as a whole crying out for similar treatment, to this day Pages haven't expanded beyond Safari. At the iOS 4 event in the spring of 2010, the iPhone added limited 3rd party multitasking and a fast app switcher interface, but rather than Pages or even an Exposé-esque grid interface, it locked to the Dock.

And as far as showing currently open apps, making those apps as visually distinguishable as possible, and making them as fast as possible to switch between, that's where iOS has remained. Even on the iPad's far larger screen.

Is it time for something more?

Options for and iOS 6 fast app switching

The most obvious options for iOS 6 fast app switching are:

1. Keep the current fast app switching interface
2. Change to the now-common Pages/Cards-style interface
3. Change to am Exposé/grid-style interface
4. Change to something else that's better

Keeping the fast app switcher does nothing to move the platform or mobile interface forward. For good or for ill, it keeps Apple and iOS exactly where they are today, even as the rest of the industry is providing more informationally and experientially rich app-switching interfaces.

Apple might well prefer this option. It's familiar to existing users, which is a feature, and it's more or less hidden away unless you go looking for it. That keeps things simple for casual users, but accessible for power users.

Changing to a Pages/Cards interface loses some of the immediate recognizability of icons, but gains the additional information density of thumbnails. It brings Apple and iOS up to par with most of the rest of the mobile platforms, but does nothing to leapfrog them.

Apple could claim they're merely extending Safari Pages, and use that claim to try and sidestep charges they're copying webOS and others (especially if they don't do Stacks, though Apple really didn't seem to care about charges they copied Android for Notification Center).

Since it would work like Safari Pages, it would be consistent on the iPhone (though not iPad). However, Apple eschewed that before in favor of keeping consistent with the Dock. wWuld they go back to it now? Where would the current media control widgets go if they did?

Changing to an Exposé/grid interface is similar to changing to a Pages/Cards interface, though it would initially fit more thumbnails onto a single screen than a horizontally scrolling list does. (However, it would still require scrolling to see subsequent screens of additional thumbnails.) The more thumbnails per screen, the easier it is to switch between them but the harder it is to get any useful, glance-able information from them. Red X icons for closing apps could be persistent, like in Pages, or could require the thumbnails to be putty in "jiggly" mode first, which could also enable re-arrangement.

Apple would get pretty much the same benefits, and face the same drawbacks, of Cards/Pages. They chose not to go this way for app switching before iOS 4 even hit beta, however, and in iPad Safari, they abandoned the grid view for tabs. So, again, would they revisit it now?

Aping Exposé's successor on OS X, Mission Control, is more problematic. Relatively few iOS apps have multiple windows, like Safari, making the stacks less necessary. Keeping the regular, app launcher Dock around also doesn't seem to be an optimal for a switcher interface (and going to the fast app switcher would be redundant).

Changing to something better than Pages or Exposé is a huge interface challenge. Those metaphors have become standards because they work, and they make sense. Concept videos and prototype devices like the First Else, and interfaces for movies like Iron Man are one thing. Nailing real world usage for hundreds of millions of users is quite another.

Apple does, however, have some of the best mobile interface designers on the planet, and a track record of coming up with great design solutions. It would have to really be better than the current fast app switcher, provide more information, recognizability, and accessibility, and work great with one hand (especially if they go to a larger, 4-inch, 16:9 screen as current rumors suggest). Could Apple do it? Should they?

Desktop precedents

Over the years, desktop operating systems have evolved various ways of handling multitasking, app switching interfaces. OS X on the Mac alone has gone through various incarnations of the NeXT-derived Dock (including lights beneath open apps, and Stacks for folders), Exposé and Mission Control, and the Windows-derived CMD + Tab.

Mobile operating systems are both more recent and far more resource constrained than the desktop -- less power, less processor, less screen real-estate. So, mobile has evolved different methods of showing, identifying, and switching apps.

While these things all existed well before the iPhone, highly visual, design-centric interfaces were far less common. I'm sure someone will tell me Symbian had the best multi-object mobile interface imaginable back in 1812. Or Maemo/Meego. Or some Windows Mobile launcher. For the purposes of this post, however, we're going to start in 2007 and work our way forward through current, popular operating systems.

iOS Safari Pages

The original iPhone had excellent multitasking -- it could fade music out to take a call, keep the call going while loading web sites or email, and fade music back in without missing a beat. However, only certain specific apps could run in the background, and due to their nature, and since there were no App Store apps back then, no fast app switching interface was needed.

Even in 2007 however, Safari did have to deal with multiple objects -- websites.

Desktop Safari has tabs, but Apple chose not to use them on the much, much smaller 320x480 iPhone screen. The Music (previously iPod) app has CoverFlow in landscape mode, like Desktop iTunes. Apple also chose not to use that interface for mobile Safari.

Instead they went with Pages.

A horizontal list of visually identifiable thumbnails with text labels on top, Pages are easy to switch between through scrolling and tapping. (It's possible this type of interface was used on a mobile device prior to the iPhone, but I'm not familiar with one if so.)

Tapping the Pages button in Safari invokes the Pages interface. While the order of Pages can't be re-arranged, tapping the red X icon at the top left of a Page closes the Page.

When Apple introduced the App Store with iOS 2 (then iPhone OS 2) in 2008, they didn't allow any 3rd party background tasks, and so still didn't need any lists, visualization, or fast switching. (And wouldn't until iOS 4 in 2010.)

webOS Cards (and Stacks)

Just because Apple hadn't yet pulled the trigger on multitasking doesn't mean mobile multi-object interfaces stood still, or that the Pages metaphor remained limited to the web rather than the OS.

The original Palm Pre and its webOS operating system debuted at CES 2009 and was shown off by former Apple executive, Jon Rubenstein. It was the most impressive mobile product introduction since the iPhone in 2007, in part because Palm seemed to specifically target things the iPhone wouldn't, or couldn't yet do. One of those was 3rd party multitasking, and the way they handled it was by making Apple's Safari Pages metaphor system-wide.

Called Cards, the early implementations showed one app or window (e.g. a website or email) in very similar fashion to Safari Pages. Instead of tapping a button, however, a less discoverable but more elegant swipe gesture "shrank" the current window into a Card and switched to the horizontally scrollable thumbnail view. You could also, very naturally, touch and flick a Card away to close an app or window.

In the original version, you could even shrink the cards down smaller to see more open apps and windows at one time. (Greater immediate information density.)

It worked wonderfully.

Palm later expanded the Cards visualization beyond what Apple did with Safari Pages by introducing Stacks in webOS 2.0.

Stacks allow you to group Cards together into sets of similar apps by type, task, or any other way you like. Stacks slightly reduces visibility (because apps or windows can be harder to see if they're tucked underneath other apps or windows), but increase speed because the distance between apps you commonly use together can be made much smaller.

In short, it works even more wonderfully. (Especially scaled up on the TouchPad running webOS 3.x)

iOS fast app switcher

Apple enabled limited background tasks for App Store apps in 2010. They added APIs for streaming audio, location, and voice-over-IP (VoIP) so Pandora, TomTom, and Skype, among others, could stay active even when you switched out of them and into other apps. They didn't add a persistent internet connectivity API, sadly, but did give a few minutes grace period for internet apps to finish activities, like uploading pictures, before they suspended. Mostly, instead of apps relaunching from scratch every time they opened, Apple let them set state on exist, and return to state on resume, so perceptively they never seemed to close.

To manage all this, Apple didn't go with the Pages or Cards interface. They went for something decidedly different.

The iPad version of Safari, which debuted in the spring of 2010, didn't use a horizontally scrolling set of thumbnails at all. Instead, thanks to the larger screen, iPad Safari showed website thumbnails all at once in a grid view. The grid didn't last long, however, and when iOS 5 was released in the fall of 2011, it was replaced by a tab interface, similar to desktop Safari.

Pages stayed in Safari on the iPhone, however, but still wouldn't expand OS-wide. Apple did, apparently, experiment with something like the original iPad grid, or the OS X Exposé interface, in iOS 4 but ultimately decided against it.

Instead, to show open apps, to make them more visually identifiable, and to enable faster switching between them, Apple went back to the Dock. Or rather, went behind it.

With a double click of the Home button, the active screen fades and lifts up, revealing a background Dock, and showing open apps as a horizontally scrollable set of app icons in reverse chronological order. Tap an app and, with a carousel-like flourish, the current app swings around to the back and the selected one swing to the front.

This configuration shows more apps and makes each app more immediately identifiable than Safari Pages. Four apps is more than the one central Page, and the two Page edges on either side. Also, icons are typically faster to differentiate than thumbnails. Their information density is lower, however, so while you can tell which app it is, there's nothing to show what state the app is in. (In iOS, with the exception of Calendar, all the icons are static as well, further lowering information density.)

If the tasks you are doing are chronologically proximate, the switching is fast (e.g going back and forth between the same two apps). Otherwise you need to swipe horizontally through a potentially long list of apps to get to the one you want, which in some cases can be slower than using the regular Home screen app launcher.

When in fast app switcher mode, roughly 80% of the iPhone screen (and more of the iPad screen) is not used. Similar to the Alt/CMD + Tab desktop interface, this puts the focus on the task of app switching, but comes at the expense of waste screen space that could be put to better use (for example, like it is in Mission Control on OS X).

Apps in the fast app switcher can't be re-arranged, but by tapping and holding, they will go into "jiggly" mode and can be closed by tapping the X icon at the top left.

With iOS 4.3, Apple also experimented with gesture-based fast app switching on the iPad, and made it official in iOS 5.

With gesture-only interfaces, while switching can be fast (though also constrained to reverse chronological order), it offers no visualization what-so-ever. You can only tell which apps are open by swiping through them all. (Which is likely why Apple also added gestures to bring up the existing fast app switcher and Home screen app launcher interfaces as well.)

And so app switching remains today, more CMD + Tab than Exposé or Mission Control, more identifiable than informational, more a utility than an experience.

Android incarnations

Google's Android mobile operating system embraced 3rd party background processes and task switching early on in its development. Between Android versions, and original device manufacturer (ODM) interface layers like HTC's Sense, Motorola's Blur, and Samsung's TouchWiz, there have been quite a few different implementations.

The current version, the one used in Android 4.x Ice Cream Sandwich, was spearheaded by Matias Duarte, formerly lead designer of webOS at Palm. So, it's no coincidence Android has taken a webOS-like approach to app switching -- albeit at a 90 degree angle. (You scroll vertically instead of horizontally.)

Because Android has ODM interfaces, and 3rd party launchers, and a custom ROM community, if you don't like Google or anyone else's version of task switching, you can choose another device, or sometimes another implementation for your existing device.

BlackBerry PlayBook OS cards

BlackBerry's PlayBook OS borrowed heavily from Palm's OS-wide Card implementation of Apple's Safari-bound Pages interface as well. It was first seen in late 2010 and released in Spring 2011.

The 7-inch screen, larger than a phone but smaller than a 9.7-inch tablet, combined with the real-time nature of the QNX underpinnings, makes for similarly wonderful visualization. Because of that, it has all the advantages of webOS' card metaphor.

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango cards

Microsoft's original smartphone operating system, Windows Mobile, had robust multitasking but an antiquated user interface. Windows Phone launched in late 2010 with the elegant, "digitally authentic" Metro interface, but initially lacked 3rd-party multitasking. That changed with Windows Phone 7.5 Mango in the summer of 2011, which re-introducted a much more limited multitasking to Microsoft's mobile phone platform.

However, while many elements of Metro were fresh and different from other mobile operating systems, Microsoft chose to go with a highly constrained version of the now very familiar, almost commonplace Pages/Cards, horizontally scrolling thumbnail metaphor for fast app switching.

BlackBerry 10 grid

BlackBerry 10, expected to ship in the fall of 2012, doesn't keep the card metaphor of the PlayBook but switches to a grid view for app thumbnails. You get to see 4 at first, and can swipe down to 4 more. You can also swipe immediately into the app launcher, or notifications and messages, thanks to the gesture-centric user experience.

It's a very slick implementation, with the goal of optimizing one-handed ease of use on larger touchscreen phones.

• The 16:9 iPhone
• The 4 inch iPhone
• How Apple could provide direct document access in iOS 6
• iOS 6 and the opposite of widgets
• Is it time for Apple to revamp the Home screen?
• The challenge of bringing Siri to the iPad
• iOS 6 and privacy: How Apple should draw inspiration from Android for better app

A new jailbreak tweak called Quasar will let you have multiple apps open and running at the same time. If you've always yearned for the opportunity to have your iPad work more like a desktop OS like Windows or OS X, Quasar could be just what you've been looking for.

Quasar is a version 1.0 jailbreak app and to be fair you can tell. It crashed the springboard a few times when I was playing with it and froze a couple of times too. There are weird rotations and portrait bugs as seen in the video are quite annoying too. Having said that, this could potentially be a game changer as and when it's quirks have been ironed out.

Quasar is available through Cydia for $9.99 and is for the iPad only running iOS 5 or higher.

Update The developer has already released an update and fixed some of the bugs that we experienced in the demo video. The orientation and rotation bugs are now fixed along with a few other things too. Good to see such speedy bug fixes!

Activator allows you to launch apps or utilities on your jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a quick swipe, tap, or button press. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to quick compose a text, double tap the status bar to bring up SBSettings, or shake your device to take a screenshot. Setting up an Activator gesture takes just a few seconds and the possibilities are endless.

Activator can be found in your Settings app. If you're jailbroken, chances are you already have Activator installed whether you know it or not. Many utilities and applications in Cydia, the jailbreak app store, support it, and will install it as a pre-requisite to using the app. SBSettings, which lets you quickly toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Airplane mode, among other things, is an example.

If you don't see an Activator your Settings app, you can install it for free via Cydia.

1. Launch Cydia and tap on the **Search** tab.
2. Type in **Activator**
3. Tap on **Activator**
4. Tap the **Install** button in the upper right hand corner.

Your device will require you to re-spring (restart the Springboard, or Home screen app) after installation. Then you're good to go.

1. Launch the **Settings** app.
2. Tap **Activator**.
3. Choose how you want to trigger an actions.
4. Choose what you want the action to do.
5. One the supported apps show up, choose the one you want.

We typically recommend you allow Activator gestures to work from anywhere. However, you may not want this if you're setting a gesture that slides in from the bottom or top of the screen as it can conflict with the controls of some games. There's nothing like trying to slice in Fruit Ninja only to suddenly find yourself in a different app!

There are plenty of action options to choose from. For example, you can set up double tap on the status bar to bring up quick reply for Messages+.

Once you're done, you'll be able to perform any gesture you've specified, or call up any supported app or command on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Under iOS 5 you can even set up Twitter gestures and other system gestures like activating Siri.

If you have any favorite or especially cool Activator gestures set ups you'd like to share, let us know in the iMore apps, hacks, and themes forum.

Additional jailbreak resources:

• Jailbreak news, guides, and how to's
• General jailbreak help and discussion forums

Marc, Seth, and Rene iterate about the Windows 8 app store, Twitter 4.0, and Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich multitouch tracking, and interrogate Global Moxie's Josh Clark about the future of gesture-based interfaces. This is Iterate!

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• Window Store announced. Has some great rules that favour developers and customers alike
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• Marc Edwards (@marcedwards) of Bjango
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford) of Nickelfish
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If you're one of the best-of-the-best-of-the-best in mobile design for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, webOS, or Windows Phone, we'd love to get you on the show, or if you've found a drop-dead gorgeous app on any platform and really want us to talk about it, contact us and let us know.

One of the most frequent questions we're getting these days is how to close all apps at once -- basically how to force quit or kill every app from the new multitasking/fast app switcher dock Apple introduced in iOS 4 for iPhone and iPod touch and iOS 4.2 for iPad.

The short answer is you don't need to. Really. If you've been worried about it, relax. It's all good.

For the long answer, read on after the break!

Multitasking is more of a marketing terms these days than a technical one. Don't think of your iPhone as a Windows or Mac OS X machine because it's not. It isn't Windows Mobile or even Android either. iOS doesn't work that way. It doesn't (most of the time) leave a bunch of rogue processes running in the background that have to be force-quit.

iOS manages all that for you. Most applications, when you exit them, save their state and "go to sleep". So if you were playing a game or looking at Settings and then hit the home button or switch to another app, it keeps track of where you were in the game or what page you were on in Settings, then stops the app. When you tap the icon to launch the game or Settings again, it reads the state and returns you to the same place in the app. It only seems like it was multitasking -- it wasn't. If you haven't used an app in a long time, iOS might not even keep the saved state (you'll notice the app re-launched and shows you a splash screen instead of going back to the last place you left it.)

This means, for most apps, you never -- not ever -- need to "delete" them or close them from the multitasking dock. You might feel a desire to, even an obsession to. But you really don't need to. Really. (Breath out!)

The only exceptions are:

1. Streaming audio like Pandora. This can keep playing in the background but if you pause or turn off the music, it ends. No need to force quit these apps either. (Just check to make sure volume isn't off, otherwise you might as well pause the music...)
2. VoIP apps like Skype. These can keep running in the background and Skype especially can drain your battery. You can close Skype or other VoIP apps if you aren't actually waiting for a call.
3. Turn-by-turn navigation like TomTom. These can stay in the background and give you location and voice instructions and if you don't need it anymore you can quit it to spare your battery the aGPS hit
4. Task completion, like finishing uploading a picture to Facebook or downloading your Twitter stream. These will automatically close when the activity is finished. Even if the activity doesn't finish they'll close after a short period of time anyway. So again, unless you really want to stop what they're doing there's not need to close them.

There will be rare -- rare -- occasions when a specific app, even an Apple app like Mail, stops working properly and a force-quit can get it to restart and behave itself. Once an a while your iPhone or iPad might get really sluggish and closing any big, recently played games might help.

But when it comes to closing ALL apps, ALL the time, just remember:

You don't ever -- never as in not ever -- have to close ALL the apps in your multitasking, fast app switcher dock. It's a sniper rifle, not a nuke. So just relax and enjoy your apps and let iOS do the heavy lifting for you.

iOS 4.2 is the grand unification update, the software that brings iPhone, iPod touch, and for the first time, iPad all onto the same version number and at the same time. Yes, it's the one firmware to rule them all.

Announced during Apple's 2010 special music event, for iPad's that have been running iOS 3.2 since launch back in April, the change is nothing short of a revelation. Multitasking, folders, and unified inbox from iOS 4.0 join Game Center and TV show rentals from iOS 4.1, and add in AirPlay video sharing and AirPrint wireless printing fresh to iOS 4.2.

Huge.

And we're going to take you through it, after the break!

(Note, if you're interested in iPhone or iPod touch, we've got a complete iOS 4.2 for iPhone walkthrough as well!)

What hasn't changed

Almost everything has changed this time. Likely because there's no weather or clock apps to ignore. Still, there doesn't seem to be anything new in Contacts yet, but we'll keep our eyes peeled.

Huge update, we told you.

Hardware changes

No, that's not a typo. As you're read below, Apple has added a software orientation lock to iOS 4.2 for iPad, similar to how it works on iPhone. That means the previous, hardware-based orientation lock is no longer needed, so they've made that a mute switch like on iPhone. Yes, they really changed a hardware button. Yes, it will make iPhone owners less confused but it will mess with existing iPad owners.

Either way, be advised.

System-wide enhancements

Many of the system-wide enhancements that came with iOS 4.2 for iPhone were already present in IOS 3.2 for iPad -- spellcheck, text replacement, etc. And unfortunately, there's still no sign of VoiceControl, which both iPhone and iPod touch have. There is, however...

AirPlay is an evolution of Apple's AirTunes system that used to let you stream music between iTunes on Windows or Mac and Apple TV or Airport Express connected speakers. AirPlay takes that to the next level, letting you stream video and pictures as well as music from iPad (or iPhone or iPod touch) and the new 2010 Apple TV. Built-in apps like iPod, Video, and YouTube can stream, but unfortunately it looks like all other apps, including Apple's own Safari and all App Store apps are currently limited to audio-only. Whether this is intentional or Apple simply ran out of time and didn't finish making public APIs for video is unknown but hopefully this will be expanded upon in a future update.

You can tell AirPlay is an option when its icon appears to the right of the volume slider. It looks like a TV-style box with a triangle being inserted up into it. (Yeah, seriously). AirPlay compatible apps, when AirPlay compatible devices are present, will show the AirPlay icon as a button. Tap it and you get a list of devices you can stream to. Tap one and your video will switch from iPhone to TV. And since it's called AirPlay and not AirView, here's hoping Apple also expands the functionality in the future to project game video onto the big TV screen, leaving iPhone and iPod touch as a full on multitouch game controller. Hey, we can dream…

AirPrint is Apple's wireless printing service. By the time it ships, it should be able to send pages to almost any printer on the same Wi-Fi network, or to certain printers directly (HP ePrint have already been announced). Needless to say, this answers one huge piece of previously missing functionality. (The one it doesn't answer, and still isn't answered, is easier file transfer and sync).

Yes, you can finally -- finally -- control volume, skip tracks, and do pretty much anything your stereo Bluetooth headset allows. Unfortunately, at least in my tests, volume changes on the headset don't show up on the iPhone's volume slider -- but they do work in both iTunes Store streaming and iPod apps.

Home Screen

SpringBoard, the app that runs the home screen and overall interface in iOS, finally gets the iOS 4 crown jewels of multitasking and folders, but there are a few small changes to go through first.

The little northeast pointing arrow that indicates a location-based service is running, be it Wi-Fi mapping or aGPS, now shows up in the status bar along the top, just like iOS 4 on iPhone.

The red bar that shows background VoIP is here, long and thin though it may be. (And yes, tapping it does indeed take you right back to your VoIP/Skype call).

There's more control inside Settings for Spotlight, but nothing in the search interface itself that we can find yet. If Apple were to create a true universal search, including for settings, app content, etc. like webOS 2.0 or BlackBerry OS 6, that would terrific.

While Apple's built-in apps (like iPod, Mail, etc.) have had background multitasking since iOS 1.0 for iPhone and iOS 3.2 for iPad, with iOS 4.2 it finally comes to 3rd party App Store apps.

As to how it works, 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.)

Local notifications

In addition to the existing push notification service from Apple's servers, which provide sound, badges, and alert popups for everything from IM to VoIP calls, to game challenges, iOS 4.2 adds local notifications so something like an alarm-clock app could register an alert that would sit in the iPhone in the background until the proper time, then activate. That takes the online server out of the equation which is good for tasks that don't need additional information from the cloud, and so don't have to activate the radios.

Task completion

There's another API for task completion so that, for example, if you're uploading a picture to Flickr and leave the app, it can register a thread to keep uploading the picture in the background while you do something else. That means the entire app doesn't have to keep running, freeing up memory and lightening battery load, and even the thread will terminate when the upload is done.

Fast app switching and saved state

Fast app switching deals with the perceptive speed that multitasking offers. With iOS 3.2 if you left an App Store app it would shut down completely. If you went back -- regardless if it was a second or a week or later -- it would usually restart not from where you left off but from the beginning. A few developers tried to add persistence on their own, saving your place when you came back as best as previous OS versions allowed, but most didn't -- especially games. Also, if you closed one app and went to another, you could theoretically be stuck swiping back or forth between 11 home screen pages. And with a 9.5-inch screen, that could be a lot of swiping!

Saved state is now built into iOS 4.2 for iPad. If you switch out, Apps have their currents state recorded to memory and if/when you go back, the app checks the memory save and resumes from that state.

To enable fast app switching, Apple's created a new UI metaphor. Now, when you double tap the home button, the screen turns translucent and slides up, allowing you to peek at the apps running "in the background". (Technically frozen with state saved and threads registered with the background API).

Apps in the fast switcher UI are sorted in order of last usage. That means, if you're moving between a set of commonly used apps, they're most likely right next to each other and not screens and screens away. These two elements combine together to make launching apps perceptively much faster, even though the apps don't have to be running in the background consuming resources just for that convenience.

Positionally the fast app switcher replaces the space traditionally reserved for the Dock, so while it's a tad confusing the concept of apps at the bottom of the screen being more permanent and easily accessible remains. Behaviorally, while they look like a secret Dock, they function like the Home Screen itself in that you can swipe from right to left to scroll through a several 4-icon sets of multitasking apps.

Given iPad has only 256MB of RAM, we assume Apple will discretely kill off the least-used app in the stack when things get tight or a certain amount of time passes. That means, yes, sometimes you will come back to that game and have it start over rather than resuming, but resources on mobile devices -- they be constrained.

(Here's also hoping iPad 2 gets 512MB of RAM like iPhone 4 did.)

iOS 4.2 helps users visualize what's going on when switching apps by introducing a new, carousel-like animation. It's a bit different than the carousel style used in iPhone and iPod touch, more like panels swinging around, but it works well. 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).

Launching or leaving an app retains the same, zoom-based effect as always.

Interlude: Task Killing

At the iOS 4 event, Steve Jobs likened task managers (in the multitasking, not to-do sense) to styluses -- if you need them there's something wrong. Initially this created confusion in iOS 4 when it was noted, if you hold your finger down on multitasking apps, they'd jiggle and bring up a delete icon that, if tapped, removed them. So um, yeah.

It appears like there's a couple things going on. First, with built-in Apple apps, like Mail, if you "delete" it from the fast app switcher, the service will re-spawn immediately so you will still receive Mail (it doesn't kill the background thread that checks, sounds/vibrates, and updates the badge). However, the respawn will sometimes fix issues of mail not loading properly, for example.

For App Store apps, if you "delete" them it flushes their saved state and forces them to reset and reload when next you launch them, i.e. they won't resume from the previously saved state and their threads seem to be restarted.

And yes, you can still hold down the Sleep/Wake button until the red Shut Down slider appears, then hold down the Home button until you return to the home screen, and that will flush the RAM and give you a general reset.

Widgets

Just like to the left of the main home screen is a special Spotlight screen, to the left of the fast app switcher is a special widget dock containing a software version of the iPad's previous hardware orientation lock control.

That's right. The hardware orientation lock button has been reassigned as a mute switch, to match the iPhone, and now orientation lock is software based. Unlike the iPhone, however, you can lock in both portrait and landscape mode.

More over, there are three circular music controls to skip back/rewind, play/pause, or skip ahead/fast forward whatever audio is currently queued up (including streaming music). Whichever app is currently playing the music, be it iPod, iTunes or Safari (streaming podcasts, for example), or an App Store app (like Pandora or Slacker) is shown at the right so you can jump back to it and access further controls.

iPad 4.2 also gets something more than iPhone -- it gets all the widgets in one dock, and it gets a brightness slider thrown in to boot. The extra screen real estate pays off with instant access to crank things down for reading or up for watching movies.

The presentation may not be as visually slick as Palm webOS' Card view (which looks like iPhone Safari's Page view) or Mac OS X Expose mode, but it keeps tens of millions of existing iPad users grounded in the interface they're familiar with and that's what Apple is prioritizing.

Background music, location, and VoIP

Speaking of streaming music, perhaps most famously, Apple is allowing apps to register three specific types of threads for persistent backgrounding (they can just keep running until you close them). Again, this isn't the whole app running, just one thread from the app, so the idea is it won't slow down performance, use up memory, or drain battery to the same degree. These API are for streaming music, location, and VoIP (voice over IP).

This means you can listen to Pandora, Slacker, etc. while surfing the web. Navigon, TeleNav,TomTom, etc. can keep using the GPS and alert you to directions while you're on the phone, and to further save resources, non-critical location apps like FourSquare, Gowalla, Loopt, etc. can be alerted when you change cell towers. Fring, Skype, Line2, etc. can answer calls and receive messages when you're not in the app, making them more equal telephony citizens.

What's still missing are background API for timeline updates, so that IM, Twitter, RSS, etc. could update like Mail does and have new messages ready and waiting when you return to the app. Also, there's no API to let internet sessions like SSH, RDP/VNC remain active when you exit an app making it more onerous for network administrators and others to manage remote machines. Hopefully these can be added in future revisions.

There are umpteen hundreds of thousands of apps in the App Store, tens of thousands specifically for iPad, and more and more every day. With iOS 3.2 on iPad we had 11 pages for 180 apps viewable, but you could install many more and use Spotlight as a way of finding and launching them. And Organizing them efficiently? Forget about it.

Enter Folders. A Folder is simply a grouped icon that holds up to 20 other icons inside it. (And for those keeping count at home, the new math means a whopping 3600 apps can be kept available at once. Super hudder).

The way it works is you tap a Folder icon and once again the Home Screen fades and splits open, this time below the Folder. Inside the split are all the apps contained in the group.

To create a Folder, you begin by tapping and holding an icon to put it in jiggly mode, just like you did before to delete or move it. Then, drag it over and drop it on top of another icon to create a Folder. (This works better when icons aren't at the right edge of the screen, as the "get out of the way" behavior sometimes supersedes the Folder behavior, causing the icon to wrap to the next line before you can drop on top of it.) Once created, iOS reads the apps' category data and tries to name the folder for you, but you can easily edit it and change it to anything you want.

As you add apps to a folder, tiny representations of the apps icon appear inside the folder icon in a 3x3 grid. Since iOS 4.2 on iPad supports more app than the iPhone version, 20 instead o 12, as you add more than 9 apps, the grid of tiny icons scrolls up to show the new apps being added. Since 20 isn't divisible by 3, when you hit 19 or 20 that row contains only 2 icons. Once you leave jiggly mode, the folder icon scrolls back down to show only the first 9 icons again. So, if you need visual reminded for certain apps being in certain folders, make sure you add them first so they'll be visible.

To remove apps from a Folder, put them in jiggly mode inside the Folder and drag them out (or just delete them if you don't want the app anymore at all). You can also move them around within the Folder to customize their order.

Folders can be put in jiggly mode and moved as well, but not deleted (they can only be deleted by removing all the apps from within them, and which point they self-destruct for you). You can even move them to the Dock, which means you could have 120 apps readily available at any time for quick launching.

You can also manage them from iTunes 10's app interface if a mouse and keyboard helps you speed up the process. (Oh, the irony.)

And while you still can't delete Apple's built-in apps, you can take the ones you're not using and hide them away inside a folder so they waste as little Home Screen space as possible.

Again, not as visually exciting perhaps as Mac OS X's Stacks, but it keeps current iPhone users in a familiar interface while adding much-needed functionality.

Calendar

Calendar app appears to be functionally identical to iOS 3.2 but for the color scheme. The shades are all pastel now, just like iPhone on iOS 4.1. Full on Miami Vice light purples and greens and peaches and tones only Prismacolor has names for. No idea what this change was about.

Notes

Notes finally -- finally lets you change fonts. That's right, if Marker Felt was never your thing, you can now jump into Settings and switch it to Chalkboard (essentially Marker Felt with a shave and a haircut), and Helvetica, used by the rest of the interface.

Curiously -- and frustratingly -- there doesn't seem to be AirPrint support for Notes.

Maps

A minor tweak, but the current location/current direction button changes from the previous crosshairs to a north-east pointer to match the new location services icon used in the title bar, much like the iPhone's did under iOS 4.0.

Video

Video, the app that unlike the iPhone but like the iPod touch houses all movie, TV, and video podcasts on iPad, enjoys AirPlay integration so all of the preceding should be able to easily stream to the 2010 Apple TV (and perhaps 3rd party AirPlay devices one day, if any offer video support).

YouTube

YouTube only gets a minor update this time, which is kind of disappointing given how great YouTube has been making YouTube.com work for iOS devices. In any event, if you've ever wished you could give a YouTube video the old thumbs up or thumbs down right on your iPad, the you're in luck.

And, of course, the AirPlay is right there, giving us hope any HTML 5 video will be instantly transportable to the TV.

iTunes Store

iTunes store gets AirPlay too in case you want to stream a video podcast and shoot it over to your 2010 Apple TV. Speaking of streaming, thanks to iOS 4.2 background audio, streaming on iPad is now as rock solid as it's been on iPhone since 4.0.

Most of the time you can scrub and it re-buffers and keeps playing flawlessly. You can stop it and come back hours or even days later -- even after using the iTunes app to search for other things or the iPod app to play different audio -- and it still knows where you left off and starts playing again instantly without missing a beat. I almost never download podcasts anymore. That's how good the streaming is now (especially if you're mobile with an iPad 3G).

Ping isn't exclusive to iOS 4.1 -- it's already available to iOS 4.0.x users -- but Apple is touting it as a new feature and it's being launched at roughly the same time, so it makes some amount of sense to fold it in here for easy reference.

A social music network, Ping debuted with iTunes 10 but only became accessible on iPad with iTunes 10.1 and iOS 4.2. You get to it via the double talk bubbles tab, bottom middle. If you haven't yet synced your iPad with iTunes 10.1, you'll get a Ping splash screen telling you to do so. Why it can't just ask for your login like Twitter or Facebook and even Apple's own Game Center is beyond me. Cut the tether already.

Once you've signed on, the Ping tab will come up with the Activities view. Activities show what's going on with the people you've followed -- status, pictures, and videos from recording artists like Lady GaGa, and comments, likes, and shared music from friends. It gives you the ability to like or comment on any of those things and, of course, instant access to preview and purchase the music being liked or commented on in iTunes. That also means there's currently no way to share or discuss music that's not in iTunes, specifically in your local country's iTunes store, which can be frustration for Beatles fans in the US, and fans of far, far more artists internationally.

Actions are fairly simple. To like or add a comment to an activity, tap the appropriate button. To preview or purchase a song that was posted, tap anywhere on the song widget, from album art to title. To be taken to the song's album, double tap on the title.

The People tab gives you a list of people you follow and people who follow you, as well as a featured button for a list of recording artists.

Tapping on a person gives you profile page with recent activity and an easy follow/stop following toggle. You can also switch to an info view that contains a short bio and buttons to see the person follows and who follows them. Similar to Twitter, people can either let anyone follow them or decide to approve followers on a person to person basis.

The My Profile view, as the name suggests, shows you your own recent activity and, at the bottom, has a button for My Info that shows you your own profile. You can't (yet?) edit this info on iOS, however, and will need to go back to iTunes 10 on Mac/Windows for that.

I'm not sure if it's the blank loading screen, but iTunes Store has never felt like the snappiest app on iOS and including Ping inside it likewise makes it feel less snappy than Twitter or Facebook. It also doesn't seem to save state of, or cache, the tabs - perhaps because they're web pages being re-loaded each time - which makes the experience of moving between apps seem sluggish. There's also no refresh feature, you need to switch between tabs to check for new data, and sit through more reload screens...

At least Apple finally added social integration, albeit by way of Twitter and not Facebook as they'd originally tried. Most of that seems to live inside the desktop iTunes, where you can link your Twitter account, find people you follow on Twitter, and friend them on Ping as well. What you like on Ping then gets tweeted to your Twitter account. That could be to your liking or incredibly not.

The other addition is TV show rentals. They're only available in the US and from ABC (whose parent company, Disney, counts Steve Jobs as its biggest share holder), and FOX (whose owner, Rupert Murdoch, sees mobile devices as a way to save old media), and cost $0.99 per episode. You have 30 days to start watching and 48hrs. to finish once you start.

Ping hasn't show up in iOS 4.2, but since the UI is web-based Apple can update it at any time, so it's almost certainly will be coming to the iPad with this release. We'll update when it shows up. It will be interesting to see what Apples does to balance the rather awkward iTunes Windows/Mac UI with the fairly standard iOS on iPhone UI.

App Store - iAds

App Store, like iTunes Store is mostly just a thin app container around constantly updated web content, but Apple has snuck something new in this time, if not for users than at least for developers. And yeah, we're talking about iAds...

Okay, so iAd really shouldn't be considered a feature, at least not for users, but it will be a feature of iOS 4.2 for developers, and it will go in apps, so we're mentioning it here.

iAd will provide developers with an easy-as-Xcode way to place advertising in their apps, both paid and free. Apple is setting a high bar for their ads, however. No simple Google-style text, annoying punch-the-monkey, or jarring transition out of the app and into the browser, they claim to want great looking, highly interactive, emotionally compelling content that will connect with rather than alienate users. Served every 3 minutes...

Settings

Settings is a boring app that often contains a great number of terrific surprises when it comes to Apple iOS updates. iOS 4.2 for iPad is no exception.

iPad gets all the wallpapers that iPhone got with iOS 4, some of them re-rendered to look even sharper on the big 9.7-inch screen.

Since Apple is, post Google-breakup, awfully serious about user privacy, Location Services get a new Settings tab that lets you turn them off completely, but also turn them off in each app separately if you like.

iOS 4.2 brings alphanumeric passcodes to iPad by default (no more configuration file required). Turn it on and you can have a nice, strong, even gnarly pseudorandom string... if you can remember it.

And yes, you get the Vader-black keyboard standard if you flip that switch.

To the list of things you can lock down and lock out, iOS 4.2 adds Deleting Apps, no doubt to the cheers of parents with young children everywhere. You can also prevent changes to location services (so your kids can't stop you tracking them, unless they're hax0rs) and email accounts.

If you don't want them playing multiplayer Game Center games, you can stamp that out as well. You can even turn off friend requests.

iOS 4 spell check causing more problems for you than it's fixing? No problem, you can now turn it off.

Gmail is dead, long live Google Mail.

Inside MobileMe, Google Mail, or other IMAP accounts, you can choose whether or not to enable sync. Again, there's no support for Exchange ActiveSync accounts yet (including Gmail via GoogleSync).

Because mail now supports threaded email messages, Settings now gives you the option to turn that feature on or off.

Notes now has its own Settings tab because, as mentioned previously, you can now change the font in Notes, and here's where you do it.

You can also choose the default account for Notes sync if you have more than one IMAP mail account set up.

Game Center

Game Center, Apple's social gaming network went live with iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod touch and comes to the iPad with iOS 4.2. As of this writing, Apple has a Game Center section set up in the App Store to help you find games that support it. To start off, you can create or login to an account, update your status, and add friends.

And yes, on iPad Game Center takes advantage of the full screen. You get a double column-view instead of single like on iPhone, and that means your lists (like friends) will on the left and the detail view (like stats) will be on the right.

Also, the sign in/welcome screen currently shows a number of app icons "dealt" card-like across Game Center's game table style UI. Tapping them does indeed take you to the App Store to get the game.

You can also see a list of your games that support Game Center. Tapping on one gives you general info and the ability to hit Play and go straight to the game. Tapping on Leaderboards lets you see top scores for Today, This Week, and All Time.

Achievements shows everything you can earn for playing the game.

Safari

iOS 4.2 finally gives iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad the ability to find text on a Safari web page. This is similar to Windows or Mac, where you just hit CTL-F or CMD-F, type your text, and off you go. On iPad Safari you use the regular old search field (still confusingly labeled Google by default) and start typing the text you want to find.

Where previously you only got suggested search terms, now you get an additional section at the bottom to find the word on the page. Tap it and the first match on the page is highlighted in yellow and a set of buttons slide up on the bottom for "Next" and "Done", as well as a counter for how many matches of the word there are on the page, and which one is currently highlighted (e.g., 7/16). Hit next until you find the one you want, hit done when you're finished. If you want to change the find term, the search box is repositioned alongside the controls to make it convenient.

No more tedious manual scanning, no more javascript bookmarklet workaround. Just happy surfing.

The previous + icon, for adding bookmarks and Web Clips is gone, replaced by the Action button found in other apps. Hitting the action button gives you all the same options as before, but now also includes AirPrint.

AirPlay will show up inline for videos where compatible but is currently limited to audio only.

Behind the scenes, Apple has added support for the accelerometer and gyroscope and generally improved HTML 5 support. (That means the potential for more, better web apps in the future.)

Mail

iOS 4.2 for iPad Mail gets a unified inbox just like iPhone has had since iOS 4.0. For those with multiple email accounts whose previous iPad experience involved tapping into and out of those boxes many, many times a day this is a hugely welcome addition.

Unlike iPhone, the split column view of iPad lets you see your inbox choices on the left in landscape mode and in popover in portrait so it can be even faster to move around. The list includes all Inboxes, a specific account's inbox (which is considered fast inbox switching), or into the complete folder and sub-folder system of a given account (how Mail has worked in iOS 3.2).

Once inside, All Inboxes is visually indistinguishable from an account-specific inbox, it simply contains all of their messages.

What is distinguishable are the carets (technically greater-than symbols) to the right of certain messages that indicate a message is part of a thread. A number, typically 2 or 3, accompanies the caret to indicate how many replies are in the thread.

Tapping on a message that's part of a thread gives a second list of all messages in the thread. Tapping on one of them shows you the message in the main column.

A thread view contains a small vertical bar at the top with the subject of the thread and time of the most recent reply. A button to the top left of the message contains the name of the inbox you came from so you can back out again, leave the thread completely, and see all your messages.

So yes, the tap, tap, tap of inbox navigation persists, albeit shifted from moving into and out of inboxes to moving into and out of threaded messages.

Great news for heavy ActiveSync users, iOS 4 supports multiple accounts. So, for example, you can now have your work Exchange server and home Google account both set up to push through ActiveSync (which is what Google Sync users behind the scenes) at the same time.

Also for Gmail users, the Delete button has now been properly renamed as Archive (since Google really doesn't want you deleting anything if they can possibly help it), and the trashcan replaced with a storage box icon.

Lastly, in iOS 3.2, when you wanted to abandon an email, you would hit Cancel and get options to Save (store the email in Drafts), Don't Save (trash the email), and Cancel (go back to writing the email). The naming of these options was likely too confusing so in iOS 4.x they've been replaced with a big red Delete Draft button (to trash the email) and Save Draft.

Photos

Photos get a bump in the functionality department, primarily through the Action button getting AirPrint. Just tap, choose a compatible printer, and your photos go wirelessly from iPad digital to hardcopy ink or laser.

Photos also get AirPlay and you can swipe through them and watch them change on Apple TV. Unfortunately AirPlay for video isn't supported.

iPod

iPod on iOS 3.2 for iPad was fairly well rounded already, so the bump up to 4.2 seems fairly minor at this point. You get AirPlay, so you can send music to Air Port express speakers, or video to the 2010 Apple TV.

Availability

iOS 4.2 is a free update currently in Gold Master (GM) for final testing, and unless anything major comes up, it should be released this week.

Conclusion

iOS 4.2 on iPad is a revelation. It's the way iPad is meant to be. That's not to say it's perfect or has every feature on every geek's wish list -- it certainly doesn't -- but it has enough new functionality to make iPad much more valuable.

Like with iOS 4 on iPhone, multitasking and folders extend the existing UI in a way that gives power users what they need, but keeps casual users either grounded in familiar metaphor, and feature-phone types blissfully unaware it's even there.

AirPrint addresses an important bit of functionality for home and business alike, and AirPlay has the potential to turn the TV video scene upside down.

Sure, non-obtrusive notifications, and glanceable, lock-screen widgets -- and hey, AirEasyFileTransfer -- would be grand, but iOS 5 beta is only 4 months or so away...

For now, we'll just thank Apple's iOS team again -- this is one hell of an update. If you notice anything we've missed, send us an email or drop a note in the comments and we'll add them to the next update.

iOS 4 (previously iPhone OS 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.

iOS 4 in 10 minutes: video quick-start guide

If you don't have time (yet) to read this massive iOS 4 walkthrough and are eager to get the basics down now, here's a quick 10 minute video guide to get your started.

We're showing it off on an iPhone 3GS, which should be similar to how it will work on an iPod touch G3. If you're using the iPhone 3G or iPod touch 2G you won't get the multitasking and wallpapers. You'll blame Apple. Apple will blame the hardware. The hardware will try to frustrate you into upgrading to an iPhone 4. You've been warned.

Note: If you haven't updated yet, save yourself some time and potential hassles and go read our getting ready for iOS 4 post first first. Then once you're good to go, sit back, relax, and hit play on the video below.

What Hasn't Changed

As always, we'll start off by telling you what hasn't change so we can clear the deck for what has. For more information on any functionality that's pretty much identical to past versions, check out our previous walkthroughs:

• iPhone 3.1
• iPhone 3.0
• iPhone 2.2
• iPhone 2.1
• iPhone 2.0

And here's a quick list of the unchanged apps in iOS 4:

• Stocks: Similarly, Stocks got landscape and a slew of swipe-able data last time, so the update love gets skipped this time.
• Weather: Almost comedically at this point, it's still unchanged from iPhone 1.0. Still no HTC TouchFlo 3D style animations, no landscape mode with more/different information. Not even a Calendar-style icon update to show current local weather. Nada.
• Voice Memo: Introduced in iPhone 3.0, it looks pretty much the same in iOS 4.
• Clock: With nothing but a lap feature added last time, we lose the "but" and keep the "nothing" for iOS 4.
• Calculator: Upgraded back in 2.0 for landscape scientific mode, all Calculator gets this time is a slight icon tweak towards the red.

(We're not counting getting a resolution bump for iPhone 4 Retina Display as a functional change.)

System-wide enhancements

Spell check, which debuted in iOS 3.2 for iPad, is a system-wide addition to iOS 4 now as well. Words the OS thinks you've misspelled will be underlined in red (familiar to any Microsoft Office or Mac OS X user). Tapping on them will give you a popup containing a recommended replacement. Tapping the popup replaces the misspelled word with the (hopefully!) correctly spelled one.

Combined with the iPhone's existing -- and industry leading -- predictive auto-correct, it's a powerful combination.

Cut, copy, and paste also gets an iPad-debuting feature with "replace" now added to the popup options.

Additionally, if iOS 4 autocorrects a word and you immediately backspace, a popup will appear offering to replace the correction with the originally typed word.

We haven't found any specific documentation on this yet, and it doesn't seem to be listed as one of the options flying by on the on-screen suggestions, but per the comments below asking "what time is it" will now have VoiceControl speak the current time to you. It's possible other commands have been added as well. If you come across any, let us know.

iPod touch (and I believe iPhone) can now stay connected to Wi-Fi even when in sleep mode. This means background VoIP calls, push notifications, and other apps that require an active Wi-Fi connection can just keep working.

Instead of just hitting the globe key to cycle through languages on the virtual keyboard, you can now hold it down to get a popup showing all currently enabled international keyboards.

You're going to get tired of us saying "like the iPad" but remember when we told you spring's influx of iPad news would be important come summer's new iPhone news? You were warned for a reason. iPhone is getting iPad's Bluetooth keyboard support. Thank goodness for that.

Based on reports from Rogers/Fido users in Canada, iOS 4 adds the ability for Carrier Setting Updates to be pushed out over-the-air (OTA) to iPhones and installed on-device. (In previous versions iTunes would handle the update and sync it over).

Home Screen

SpringBoard, the app behind the Home Screen gets an iOS 3.2 for iPad-style update to support custom wallpaper. Yes, the default background in iOS 4 is water drops on gray, which is not default but included in the iPad's wallpaper gallery. Also like iPad, the Mac OS X reflective Dock (buh-bye grid) and translucent top bar have been brought over.

(If you get a new iPhone 4, or do a clean install of iOS 4, you'll also note Clock, Compass, Calculator, and Voice Memos have been moved to a Utilities folder by default -- more on Folders later).

In addition to the iPad wallpapers, Apple has also introduced a few new ones, all seemingly focused on livening up the home screen without being too visually distracting. Natural textures and muted patterns get an obvious focus here with stones, rocks, and textiles front and center.

(See all of them in our iOS 4 wallpaper gallery)

In addition to previous status icons, the top bar will now show a north-east pointing arrow to alert you that location-based services (GPS) are being used. (So you'll see this in Maps and when using navigation, location-based social networks or games, etc.) An orientation lock icon will also show if you've enabled the widget to lock your screen in portrait mode (see below).

The color bands indicators across the top of the screen that highlight running voice or data connections (green for Phone, red for Voice Memo, blue for tethering) get expanded. Red now serves double-duty to indicate a VoIP app (like Skype) is active in the background.

How the SpringBoard has been once again extended to visualize new, core-level OS changes is where things get more interesting...

First, and strangely least, the Spotlight Home Screen introduced in iPhone 3.0 now gets to look beyond on-device data and reach for the clouds. Literally. Well, insomuch as the cloud here is Google and Wikipedia, which are very welcome additions. (Hopefully Twitter will be added in as well at some point). Tapping either will launch you into Mobile Safari and the appropriate search result page.

While Apple's built-in apps (like iPod, Mail, etc.) have had background multitasking since 1.0. four years, many gripes, and stiffer Google Android competition than later, background multitasking comes to App Store apps. (At least for iPhone 4 and last year's iPhone 3GS).

Why no iPhone 3G? Apple abjectly refuses to put their name on an implementation where hardware constrains software -- see video recording last year -- and that means iPhone 3G isn't up to their multitasking standards.

As to how it works, 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.)

Local notifications

In addition to the existing push notification service from Apple's servers, which provide sound, badges, and alert popups for everything from IM to game challenges, iOS 4 adds local notifications so something like an alarm-clock app could register an alert that would sit in the iPhone in the background until the proper time, then activate. That takes the online server out of the equation which is good for tasks that don't need additional information from the cloud, and so don't have to activate the radios.

Task completion

There's another API for task completion so that, for example, if you're uploading a picture to Twitter and leave the app, it can register a thread to keep uploading the picture in the background while you do something else. That means the entire app doesn't have to keep running, freeing up memory and lightening battery load, and even the thread will terminate when the upload is done.

Fast task switching and saved state

Fast task switching deals with the perceptive speed that multitasking offers. With previous versions of iOS, if you left an App Store app it would shut down completely. If you went back -- regardless if it was a second or a week or later -- it would usually restart not from where you left off but from the beginning. A few developers tried to add persistence on their own, saving your place when you came back as best as previous OS versions allowed, but most didn't -- especially games which was aggravating when phone calls pulled you unexpectedly out of them. Also, if you closed one app and went to another, you could theoretically be stuck swiping back or forth between 11 home screen pages.

Saved state is now built into iOS 4. If you switch out, Apps have their currents state saved to memory and if/when you go back, the app checks the memory save and resumes from that state. [Thanks Aaron]

To enable fast app switching, Apple's created a new UI mechanic. Now, when you double tap the home button, the screen turns translucent and slides up, allowing you to peek at the apps running "under the hood". (Technically frozen with state saved and threads registered with the background API).

Apps in the fast switcher UI are sorted in order of last usage. That means, if you're moving between a set of commonly used apps, they're most likely right next to each other and not screens and screens away. These two elements combine together to make launching apps perceptively much faster, even though the apps don't have to be running in the background consuming resources just for that convenience.

Positionally the fast task switcher apps take up the space traditionally reserved for the Dock, so while it's a tad confusing the concept of apps at the bottom of the screen being more permanent and easily accessible remains. Behaviorally, while they look like a secret dock, they function like the Home Screen itself in that you can swipe from right to left to scroll through a several 4-icon sets of multitasking apps.

Given even the iPhone 3GS has only 256MB of RAM, we assume Apple will discretely kill off the least-used app in the stack when things get tight. Whether or not that means the icon disappears from the multitasking UI we don't know, but worst case you just have to go to the home screen, re-launch it (hopefully from saved state) and all you notice is a slightly longer start up time. iPhone 4 is supposed to have 512MB of RAM which should allow for significantly more threads to run in background without slowdown or other problems.

iOS 4 helps users visualize what's going on when switching tasks by introducing a new, carousel-like animation. 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).

Launching or leaving an app retains the same, zoom-based effect as always (though the wallpaper in iOS zooms slightly as well, like on the iPad).

YouTube link

Interlude: Task Killing

At the iOS 4 event, Steve Jobs likened task managers (in the multitasking, not to-do sense) to styluses -- if you need them there's something wrong. Initially this created confusion in iOS 4 when it was noted, if you hold your finger down on multitasking apps, they'd jiggle and bring up a delete icon that, if tapped, removed them.

It appears like there's a couple things going on. First, with built-in Apple apps, like Mail, if you "delete" it from the fast task switcher, you will still receive Mail (it doesn't kill the background thread that checks, sounds/vibrates, and updates the badge) but the app seems to do some sort of data cache refresh at times.

For App Store apps, if you "delete" them it does appear to force a reset when next you launch them, i.e. they won't resume from the previously saved state and their threads seem to be restarted. [Thanks Justin!]

Widgets

Just like to the left of the main home screen is a special Spotlight screen, to the left of the fast app switcher is a special widget dock containing an software version of the iPad's hardware orientation lock control (though it currently only locks in portrait mode). More over, there are three circular controls to skip back, play/pause, or skip forward any music (including streaming music) -- and rewind or fast forward if you hold them down. Lastly, whichever app is currently playing the music, be it iPod, iTunes (streaming podcasts, for example), or an App Store app (like Pandora or Slacker) is shown at the right so you can jump back to it and access further controls.

YouTube link

The presentation may not be as visually slick as Palm webOS' Card view (which looks like iPhone Safari's Page view) or Mac OS X Expose mode, but it keeps tens of millions of existing iPhone and iPod touch users grounded in the interface they're familiar with and that's what Apple is prioritizing.

Note: Previously you could assign the double-click home button action to trigger Phone Favorites, Camera, or Spotlight. On iPhone 3G under iOS those options remain. On iPhone 3GS under iOS, in early betas you could double-click-and-hold the home button to trigger Phone Favorites, but this function doesn't appear to have survive to the final release. Hopefully something will replace it and soon.

Background music, location, and VoIP

Speaking of streaming music, perhaps most famously, Apple is allowing apps to register three specific types of the threads for persistent backgrounding (they can just keep running until you close them). Again, this isn't the whole app running, just one thread from the app, so the idea is it won't slow down performance, use up memory, or drain battery to the same degree. These API are for streaming music, location, and VoIP (voice over IP).

This means you can listen to Pandora, Slacker, etc. while surfing the web. Navigon, TeleNav,TomTom, etc. can keep using the GPS and alert you to directions while you're on the phone, and to further save resources, non-critical location apps like FourSquare, Gowalla, Loopt, etc. can be alerted when you change cell towers. Fring, Skype, Line2, etc. can answer calls and receive messages when you're not in the app, making them more equal telephony citizens.

What's still missing are background API for timeline updates, so that IM, Twitter, RSS, etc. could update like Mail does and have new messages ready and waiting when you return to the app. Also, there's no API to let internet sessions like SSH, RDP/VNC remain active when you exit an app making it more onerous for network administrators and others to manage remote machines. Hopefully these can be added in future revisions.

There are over 200,000 apps in the App Store and likely a ton more by the time I finish writing the sentence. Literally. iPhone 1.0 had one Home Screen but with only the built-in apps available back then, it wasn't even a limitation. With WebApps, it grew to 9 pages for a 148 app limit. With iPhone 3.0 we were given 11 pages, for 180 apps viewable, but you could eventually install many more and use Spotlight as a way of finding and launching them. Organizing them still wasn't a real option.

Enter Folders. A Folder is simply a grouped icon that holds up to 12 other icons inside it. (And for those keeping count at home, the new math means a whopping 2160 apps can be kept available at once. Shudder).

The way it works is you tap a Folder icon and once again the Home Screen fades and splits open, this time below the Folder. Inside the split are all the apps contained in the group.

To create a Folder, you begin by tapping and holding an icon to put it in jiggly mode, just like you did before to delete or move it. Then, drag it over and drop it on top of another icon to create a Folder. (This works better when icons aren't at the right edge of the screen, as the move behavior seems to supersede the Folder behavior, causing the icon to wrap to the next line before you can drop on top of it.) Once created, iOS reads the apps' category data and tries to name the folder for you, but you can easily edit it and change it to anything you want.

To remove apps from a Folder, put them in jiggly mode inside the Folder and drag them out (or just delete them if you don't want the app anymore at all). You can also move them around within the Folder to customize their order.

Folders can be put in jiggly mode and moved as well, but not deleted (they can only be deleted by removing all the apps from within them, and which point they self-destruct for you). You can even move them to the Dock, which means you could have 48 apps readily available at any time for quick launching.

And while you still can't delete Apple's built-in apps, you can take the ones you're not using and hide them away inside a folder so they waste as little Home Screen space as possible (as Apple now does by default with the Utilities folder mentioned previously).

Again, not as visually exciting perhaps as Mac OS X's Stacks, but it keeps current iPhone users in a familiar interface while adding much-needed functionality.

YouTube link

The ability to manage Folders has also been added to iTunes 9.2, mirroring the creation, editing, and removal features found on-device.

Messages

Messages in iOS 4 gets the same built-in Spotlight search that Mail and other apps got with iPhone 3.0. It appears at the top of the main messages screen. (There's no search within an individual Messages thread). [@justin_horn]

Messages (finally) gets a character counter so you'll know when you're getting close to, or going past, the SMS limit (which would cause a second message to be sent). It kicks in after you've typed 50 characters or so. [@iMuggle]

iOS 4 will now put an exclamation badge on the Messages app as a way to inform you when an SMS text or MMS multimedia message fails to send.

There's also a new API to allow in-app SMS for developers who want to include the functionality in their own apps. While this might be similar to the iPhone 3.0 embedded email option, and whether or not it will let users reply to SMS without leaving an app, it doesn't seem as elegant a solution as a global background messaging system.

Calendar

Calendar removes two long-standing gripes and adds something pretty much invisible from the interface but awesome in terms of functionality.

First, you can now show all or hide all calendars or individually check/uncheck just the calendars you want to see.

Birthday calendars have also been added to the option, something that was previously only possible to see under certain setup conditions.

Lastly (and most excitingly), Apple has finally added Calendar access for developers. What this means is you may soon see apps where you can buy tickets for a local movie and have the show time automatically added to your Calendar.

Photos

Photos, at least for Mac users, gets the same iPhoto '09-based organizational features introduced with the iPad: Events, Faces, and Places.

If you have a Mac with iPhoto '09 and you've let it automatically file your photos by time stamp (Events), through facial-recognition algorithms (Faces), and via geo-location (Places). All these join the previous Albums view to form the bottom tab bar.

Landscape mode is also now supported in album and gallery views [@antonioj].

Previous betas included a Rotate function under the action button that would turn a photo 90 degrees, but this doesn't seem to have made it into the final. Hopefully it will return.

If you Email Photo, you now get the option of sending a small, medium, or large version (shrunken pixel dimensions and hence file size), or at actual size.

Lastly, developers have been given access to the photo and video library (not just the image picker as in previous OS versions).

Camera

Tap to focus, introduced in iPhone 3.0 for still photography, now gets expanded to video recording for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.

Still photography maintains its leg up, however, via a new 5x digital zoom. When you tap the screen, a slider pops up allowing you to swipe to the right to increase magnification and swipe left to decrease.

With iPhone 4, there's an additional control to swap between the beefed up 5mp back-facing camera, and the all new front-facing VGA camera (if you want to take a self-portrait/profile picture). There's also an icon to show the new rear-mounted LED flash. This feature sounds like it's automatic for still but can be turned on and left on for night-time video shooting, but we'll have to wait and see when iPhone 4 ships.

Developers also get full access to and control of video playback and recording.

YouTube

You can now watch YouTube videos in portrait mode if you really want to. They'll still default in landscape, so you may have to rock the accelerometer back and forth to get them to switch.

Maps

A minor tweak, but the current location/current direction button changes from the previous crosshairs to a north-east pointer to match the new location services icon used in the title bar. (No iOS 3.2 for iPad-style terrain mode, at least not yet).

For developers, overlays can now be added to embedded maps to show extra data like routes or annotations.

Notes

When you first enter notes it looks unchanged from previous versions of the iPhone OS. However, there is now an Accounts button at the top left of the list page and tapping it takes you to a new screen where you can choose to view All Notes, just the notes on your iPhone, or just the notes that are synced via IMAP to your email account(s). Yes, that means over the air (OTA) notes sync is finally here -- with the caveat that Exchange doesn't seem supported yet.

(UI-wise this is similar to how you back out/left in Calendar or Contacts to toggle data sources.)

The way these show up in Mac OS X is via the built-in Mail.app client in the Notes tab.

On Gmail they show up as a generic label. In other IMAP clients, regardless of OS, they'll show up as generic IMAP folders.

iTunes Store

The iTunes store itself is the same, however, audio streaming from the app has taken a huge leap forward. Since iPhone OS 2.2 you've been able to tap the title of a podcast to begin streaming (rather than downloading) the audio, even in the background while using other apps, but it was sometimes hit or miss. It would drop out, it would time out, you couldn't really scrub through it, and if you left it for a while it would lose its place and start over.

In iOS 4 it's rock solid. You can scrub and it re-buffers and keeps playing flawlessly. You can stop it and come back hours or even days later -- even after using the iTunes app to search for other things or the iPod app to play different audio -- and it still knows where you left off and starts playing again instantly without missing a beat.

As mentioned previously in the multitasking section, when iTunes is using the background music streaming API (I'm assuming thats' what it's using) it gets the widget position in the fast task switcher interface, complete with widget controls.

Settings

This year, like every year, some of the more numerous and interesting changes Apple delivers in their new OS are tucked neatly away in the Settings app.

You can now choose to not only turn off 3G data or roaming data, but all cellular data.

At the iOS event, Apple made a big deal about user privacy when it came to location (like a shot at Google). That manifests here with far more granular controls over which apps are allowed to access your location data (GPS, Wi-Fi mapping, and cell tower triangulation) and the aforementioned north-east pointing arrow that shows up when any app has used your location in the last 24 hours.

Since double clicking the home button is now a hard-wired to launch the fast-task switcher for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, the Home Button setting is gone and replaced by direct access to Spotlight Search preferences.

Since iPhone 3G won't be getting multitasking those options remain under iOS 4 for that device.

Previously available only through an Enterprise profile, iOS 4 brings stronger, alphanumeric passcodes to all iPhone users. That means you're no longer stuck with only a 4 digit pin, but can now create longer passcodes with far greater variation. Of course, longer, more varied passcodes are more of a hassle to remember and enter, but that's the cost of good security.

As previously mentioned, Notes will now sync over IMAP and the settings for that appear here. First, all the way at the bottom, you can choose which account to use as the default for note sync.

Inside MobileMe, Gmail, or other IMAP accounts, you can choose whether or not to enable sync. Again, there's no support for Exchange ActiveSync accounts yet (including Gmail via GoogleSync).

When you tap into the Safari's URL bar in iOS 4 and start typing, Safari starts to do a "keyword search", i.e. display predictive results based on your bookmarks and history. Anything that contains the text you're inputing either in the URL or history is listed below the URL field so the moment you see what you want you can just tap it and go.

This makes it easier to find something if you don't remember the exact web page address or if you know you recently saw a site, and know what it was about, but don't remember where exactly it was. Just start typing a few words you do remember and let Safari do the heavy lifting. Highly convenient and certainly "awesome". [To misappropriate the term from Mozilla]

Also, welcome to iOS search options, Microsoft Bing.

Here's where you can turn on that new character count option.

The iPod app now has an overlay that shows you information about songs and podcasts. While functional it's not terribly attractive so it's nice to be able to toggle it off right here.

App Store

iPhone 2.0 brought us the iTunes App Store, iPhone 3.0 added in-app purchases, and now iOS raises the mercantile stakes once again with...

iAd will provide developers with an easy-as-Xcode way to place advertising in their apps, both paid and free. Apple is setting a high bar for their ads, however. No simple Google-style text, annoying punch-the-monkey, or jarring transition out of the app and into the browser, they claim to want great looking, highly interactive, emotionally compelling content that will connect with rather than alienate users. Served every 3 minutes. Yeah...

Functionally these are built in HTML5 (no Flash need apply) and seem to work as apps-within-apps. Tapping on a banner brings up a full-screen ad-as-webapp and examples shown included plenty of animated UI effects and content that ranged from videos to freebies like wallpaper, to free and paid apps you could download from within the ad (no trip to the App Store needed). An exit button is persistent at the top left so users can quit the add at any time.

Apple will be selling and serving the ads, so all we can do is hope they're unobtrusive and actually reach the quality levels presented. For paid apps that also try to include in-app iAds, that bar will rightly be very, very high.

Just like Mail can preview documents, Quick Look will allow developers to present the same functionality in their apps.

2000 hardware accelerated math APIs probably won't be seen by users, but there's not doubt we'll feel them in the games. Zoom. Zoom.

Again it looks like the iPhone is finally getting in iOS what the iPad got in 3.2 with the file/document transfer feature now exposed in iTunes sync.

Now all we need is an elegant way to share and wirelessly sync those documents across multiple devices and users. MobileMe 2.0, souped up iWork.com 2.0, where are you?

Phone

The biggest addition to the iOS 4 Phone app is iPhone 4 exclusive -- FaceTime. When connected to Wi-Fi and making a call to another iPhone 4 user, the Hold button gets replaced with a FaceTime video icon. (Where the hold option goes under these circumstances is as yet unknown.)

Tapping that initiates a FaceTime video call. During the FaceTime video call, the person you're calling fill the screen, your own camera input is boxed in the lower left corner (you can touch and drag it to move it around), and mute, hang up, and switch camera buttons line the bottom of the screen. (Switch camera toggles between the rear-facing and front-facing cameras on the iPhone 4).

Mail

Mail gets a unified inbox. Let's write that again -- Mail gets a unified inbox. For those with multiple email accounts whose previous iPhone experience involved tapping into and out of those boxes many, many times a day this is a hugely welcome addition.

As with Calendars, Notes, etc. you can tap a button on the top left, in this case Mailboxes, to back into a selection screen where you can then go into All Inboxes, a specific account's inbox (which is considered fast inbox switching), or into the complete folder and sub-folder system of a given account (how Mail has worked from iPhone 1.0 to iPhone 3.0).

Once inside, All Inboxes is visually indistinguishable from an account-specific inbox, it simply contains all of their messages.

What is distinguishable are the small carets (technically greater-than symbols) to the right of replies that indicate a message is part of a thread. A number, typically 2 or 3, accompanies the caret to indicate how many replies are in the thread.

Tapping on a message that's part of a thread doesn't take you to the message but rather to a second list-view, similar to the inbox itself, but containing only the messages from the thread. Tapping on one of them then takes you to the message. A thread view contains a small vertical bar at the top with the subject of the thread and time of the most recent reply. A button to the top left of the message that's part of the thread also contains the subject of the thread and lets you back out and see the thread again. The button then switches to contain the name of the inbox so you can back out again, leave the thread completely, and see all your messages.

So yes, the tap, tap, tap of inbox navigation persists, albeit shifted from moving into and out of inboxes to moving into and out of threaded messages.

Like iOS 3.2 for iPad, you'll be able to open email attachments in apps. Now there's no iWork (Numbers, Pages, Keynote) for iPhone yet, but plenty of apps should support it as they push out the iOS 4 compatible versions.

Great news for heavy ActiveSync users, iOS 4 supports multiple accounts. So, for example, you can now have your work Exchange server and home Google account both set up to push through ActiveSync (which is what Google Sync users behind the scenes) at the same time. Win. Win.

Also for Gmail users, the Delete button has no been properly renamed as Archive (since Google really doesn't want you deleting anything if they can possibly help it).

Lastly, in previous versions of the iPhone OS, when you wanted to abandon an email, you would hit Cancel and get options to Save (store the email in Drafts), Don't Save (trash the email), and Cancel (go back to writing the email). The naming of these options was likely too confusing so in iPhone OS they've been replaced with a big red Delete button (to trash the email), Save as Draft, and Cancel. And yes, you can still cancel a cancel. (iPad, by contrast, still has Save and Don't Save, but no Cancel since it's in a popover rather than full-screen menu and you can just tap away to cancel).

Safari

More iPad to iPhone cross-polination means we get search auto-complete in iOS. As you type, suggestions appear in a list view below. And as with the iPad, while Google and Yahoo! branding remain in the search boxes (along with Bing now as well), they no longer get brand advertising on the keyboard -- it simply remains labeled Search now regardless of which engine is set and default.

While HTML5 video would work under iPhone 3.1.3, it would launch the full screen QuickTime player to do so. Under iOS, it seems to play in-line as well [MobileGeekdom], like it does on the iPad.

If history is any indicator, Apple will likely also integrate whatever advancements WebKit and the Nitro JavaScript engine make between now and release this summer. However, there's no sign of Safari 5 desktop's key new features -- reader (think built-in Instapaper) and extensions.

iPod

When you have a song playing in the iPod app and you tap the album art, in addition to all the previous controls that popped up, you now get a dark overlay with white text giving you the info metadata of the song or podcast. This is another iPad bring-over, though not the most attractive one by a long shot. (Remember, it can be turned off in Settings).

Album art has been added to album views, jazzing up the track lists.

And in yet another iPad-like update, on-the-go playlists are dead, long live... just regular old playlists. You can add them via an item in the playlists list, at which point you get a popup that asks you for a name. Next, you tap on any songs you want to add, and when you're done, you have a new playlist. If you're not happy with it, or any playlist, just swipe to bring up the usual red Delete button and annihilate it.

Contacts

When you sync contacts from more than one source (i.e. Exchange and MobileMe, on-device and Google Sync, etc.), and there are duplicates, rather than showing the same contact twice iOS 4 will instead create a single, linked contact. This works on any iOS 4 device, including iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, recent iPod touch, etc.

If you look at a linked contact, the header will show Unified Info at the top so you know it's linked. At the very bottom of the contact it will show you the source of the links (i.e MobileMe, Google). Tapping on the source lets you see the original, non-unfied info from just that source.

If you don't like the idea of your contacts being linked, you can tap edit and hit Unlink. If iOS 4 missed linking a contact that ought be linked, tap edit, scroll down to the bottom, tap Link Contact and choose the contact you want linked.

Game Center (Preview)

Game Center is Apple's entry into the social gaming network space (think Xbox Live or Playstation Network for iOS devices). With Game Center you'll be able to invite friends to play, use matchmaking to challenge other players, gain achievements, and have your scores displayed on a leader board.

Game Center won't launch with iOS this summer, but is scheduled for release "later" this year.

iBooks

Though not a built-in app (you'll need to go get it from the App Store when it becomes available), as part of iOS Apple announced they were bringing iBooks to the iPhone.

Apple has announced new features, including notes and bookmarks, and that those along with highlights will automatically be synced across all the iOS devices logged into your iTunes accounts. (So you can have the same book, at the same place, with the same annotations on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad).

Also, iBooks will be able to add PDFs to a second book shelf and open them in the same iBooks interface.

Due to the fracture and regionalism in books, it's going to take Apple a while to get deals in place with all publishers in all areas which means most countries won't have paid content at first, only public domain books from the Project Gutenberg library.

Accessibility

Apple really doesn't get enough credit for the outstanding accessibility features they build into their OS, both desktop and mobile. iOS 4 continues to lead the industry. VoiceOver supports 21 languages to read out loud whatever your finger touches on the screen, and a "rotor" gesture lets you temporarily change languages now on the fly.

Bluetooth support has been extended to more than 30 braille devices with tables for more than 25 languages.

Touch Typing lets you run your finger across the keyboard, hear the letter you're currently over, and release your finger to type it.

The basic rotor has been made visible so sighted users can see it in action, and you can now add custom settings to move through content.

iOS 4 pricing and availability

Apple has announced that iOS 4 will be coming to iPhone and iPod touch on June 21, and iPad later this fall. In a huge departure from previous years, Apple is also making it a free update to all users, iPhone and iPod touch alike. (If you have a compatible device, see directly below).

iOS 4 device compatibility

Before we begin it's important to note that not all iOS 4 features will be available for all iOS devices.

• iPhone 4 (2010): All features
• iPad (2010): Coming this fall
• iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 (2009): No features requiring iPhone 4-type hardware (i.e. FaceTime)
• iPhone 3G and iPod touch G2 (2008): No multitasking, custom wallpaper, and Bluetooth keyboard support.
• iPhone 2G and iPod touch G1 (2007): not compatible/no update

Yes, the original iPhone 2G and iPod touch G1 don't look to be getting iOS 4 at all -- Apple considers them outdated. Second generation iPhone 3G and iPod touch G2 are getting the update but no multitasking -- Apple doesn't consider them powerful enough (similar to video recording last year). And it should go without saying only iPhone 4 (and perhaps a forth generation iPod touch when it ships this fall) will be able to use hardware specific features like the Retina Display resolution or the front-facing camera.

Additionally, Apple's own iMovie for iPhone will only run on iPhone 4 -- apparently it needs the A4 chipset -- so there might be other apps that go 2010-only. Legacy, right?

Conclusion

Apple is again rounding out their offering with iOS 4, which is the sign of the maturity of the platform. Since they've stated several times now that they're using the iPhone to "educate" users about multitouch interfaces, they're going to continue keeping changes evolutionary for now, and the UI broadly consistent across devices. There won't be any huge, revolutionary changes again until they have to, and they don't have to yet. Restraint can be a virtue.

Some functionality is still not present, like non-interuptive notifications, widgets beyond the limited fast task switcher UI, wireless sync/sharing, less painful file round-tripping, etc. but Apple is no doubt working on this the way they worked on copy and paste and multitasking. The question is how and when, not if. After all, it's only 9 or 10 months until the iOS 5 sneak preview in spring 2011, right?

But this is not a review — our full rundown of the pros and cons will come after the official launch, when we've had a chance to spend some quality time with the final version on the new iPhone 4 hardware.

Congratulations to the iOS team at Apple, phenomenal work. Again.

[Thanks to everyone who contributed screenshots and descriptions for this walkthrough. If you noticed we missed anything, drop us a note in the comments and we'll update as needed.]

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!]

YouTube link

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!

YouTube link

At first glance using the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad keyboard can look like a chore. You have to hit keys to switch from lowercase to uppercase, from letters to numbers to symbols and back, and where the heck are the all the special characters? Luckily, Apple built in a lot of gesture shortcuts that make the typing experience on iOS significantly better. They're not always easy to discover or to remember, but once you have them down, you'll be typing faster than ever.

• For fast access to accented characters, for example [é], just tap and hold the base character you want and the accented variations will pop up for easy entry. This also works on specialized keyboards, for example you can press and hold [.com] to get [.net] [.org] etc.
• To get quicker caps, instead of tapping shift and then the letter, just touch shift and then drag you finger to the letter and release. The closer the letter is to the shift key, the faster it is.
• Rapid numbers work the same way. Just touch the number key [.?123], slide up to the number or punctuation/symbol character you want, and let go. It's great if you just want a single number or character in between typing a lot of letters. (If you want to type a series of numbers you're still better off tapping the number key, then typing your numbers, then tapping the letters key [ABC] to go back to the alphabet.
• At first glance it looks like Apple forgot the apostrophe/single quote ['] on the first level of the iPad keyboard. You don't have to hit the number key to get it, however. Just touch the [!,] key and hold for a second, and the ['] magically appears above it. Tap for your apostrophe, or to combine these tips, just touch [!,] and swipe up and boom, instant apostrophe.

Try them out and let us know how the work for you, and if you have any iPad typing tips of your own to share, leave them in the comments and we'll update!

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!

Friday we linked to Business Insider and Daring Fireball both quoting sources that claimed Apple was considering allowing some form of limited background multi-tasking on the iPhone at some point in the future. Now TechCrunch is weighing in, having heard a similar rumor from its sources:

TechCrunch cites processor power, user experience, and battery life as factors currently concerning Apple. They also suggest the soon-to-be released Palm Pre, with its webOS multi-tasking as a driving force behind all chatter we've been hearing about it all of a sudden.

Our sibling site PreCentral.net has gotten their mobile accomplishers on yet another (rumored to be) leaked internal document. This one supposedly comes from Sprint and details what, to PreCentral.net, are some interesting factoids. To us, however, they represent some far more interesting questions:

• The picture above shows what looks to be fairly user-toxic troubleshooting steps for Pre and memory management. While the iPhone has memory issues as well, you either reboot or restore. Here, steps are approaching the level of finicky task management and triage Apple has made fun of in previous iPhone keynotes.
• Tethering looks to be gone, which may be a bad sign for iPhone users hoping AT&T would throw it in when OS 3.0 -- which enables it -- rolls around this summer.
• Also, no cut and paste from web pages, which is interesting given that webOS is based on web 2.0 style pages. Shouldn't that one be a gimme?

For much, much more, check out the source blog and let us know how the Palm Pre is developing, competitively to the iPhone, from your point of view. (Of course, we won't know any final feature set or functionality levels until it actually ships... sometime before June 30).