iPhone 4.0 to include background apps?
Summary: Sources tell AppleInsider that Apple has developed a "full-on solution" to multitasking on the iPhone OS and that the feature will be released as iPhone 4.0.
Sources tell AppleInsider that Apple has developed a "full-on solution" to multitasking on the iPhone OS and that the feature will be released as iPhone 4.0.
People with a proven track record in predicting Apple's technological advances tell AppleInsider that the Cupertino-based company has developed a "full-on solution" to multitasking on the iPhone OS but offered no specifics on how the technology would optimize resource conservation and battery life -- two of the most critical issues surrounding the matter, alongside security.
Details are slim, but multi-tasking (a.k.a. background) apps are allowed to run after the home button is pressed (which currently quits most apps). Only a limited number of (mostly Apple) apps allowed to run in the background, including Calendar, Clock Mail, iPod, Messages, Nike+, Phone and Voice Recorder.
Background apps would solve one of my main issues that I have with the iPhone, specifically, not being able to listen to apps like Pandora or MLB while doing other iPhone tasks. It would also keep up with Android, which has had background apps forever.
What's your take? Are background apps critical?
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
MLB
audio. It gives you the ability to launch the audio in safari, where it then
launches the quicktime player and plays the stream. You can then press
the home button and do other iphone things while the audio plays.
The only issue I have with this is that it appears to lock you out of safari.
If you re-launch safari it just brings you to the quicktime player with no
obvious way of opening a new tab to browse other locations. The only
option is to exit out of the player and back to safari, which then stops the
audio.
MLB Oceanus
surfing the net while MLB uses safari. This works for the FlyCast radio app and
the WEEI radio app as well. It's pretty slick and it really uses very little ram to
run these that way saving processing power and battery life. I like how push
notifications save processing power and battery by only 'receiving' data that is
sent to it but not staying active in the backround 'listining for data' like end of
game scores and updates from the MLB app.
RE: iPhone 4.0 to include background apps?
could be left running and draining your battery all the
while. With the limited screen size what application would
be so important that it needs to be running full steam in
the background. Push notification is sufficient for RSS
feeds and other things that might appear while in some
other application. The only addition to Push Notification
might be popups like when you get a Text Message that
brings it to the front when it arrives if something is really
that important that you need interrupted. That additional
multitasking feature would be to let the program you were
in continue running in the background for a limited
amount of time so you can go out and take care of the
urgent event and then return to where you were when the
original app is clicked or if Apple can devise another way
for App switching other than the current colored menu bar
at the top of the iPhone screen.
RE: iPhone 4.0 to include background apps?
RE: iPhone 4.0 to include background apps?
geekdom has ranted against Apple for the iPhone's 'lack' of
multitasking (when indeed it has been a restricted ability
from the beginning as iPhone OS is basically OS X) they
failed to come to grips with the fact that Apple wasn't
providing geeks with a hobby, but rather providing a
consumer experience which included long batter life with
the current battery technology.
I suspect that Apple's new hardware will address these
issues which will allow them to loosen the reigns on the
whole multitasking regime. That is what I glean from this
hint of rumor. Again, Apple will most likely continue to
restrict which apps are allowed to run in the background.
You probably won't be able to play a major game while you
have your corporate annual report spreadsheet calculating
in the background, but there will be more latitude based
on new hardware.
This loosening of control will be designed to let the first
three generations of iPhone hardware not be hit too hard,
but there may well be some caveats when upgrading to
4.0, letting users know that their potential battery life can
be hit by the upgrade. Perhaps a guideline of how to use
the new feature set without burning through your battery
too quickly.
So...once again...Apple is making features available...
And I suppose that in iPhraud v5.0 TETHERING will be possible?
iPhone features
Second - I think Apple did a VERY smart thing by not allowing any app to run in the background. The phone experience would have become much more complex and frustrating and I bet would have made the phone less popular.
I hope they continue to restrict this feature in some form (i.e. don't make it the default behaviour, but force the user to choose to keep it running or something along those lines). It's still going to give people the power to shoot themselves in the foot.
Be very careful, Apple!
Agreed - Locked Sandbox a good idea
a security standpoint.
If Apple is going to allow multitasking I expect the price is a much more
complex approval process to make sure the code is benign, and not a
complete resource hog in the background.
As always, be careful what you wish for...
2010: the invention of multitasking
RE: iPhone 4.0 to include background apps?