Third-Party Multitasking: How & Why
Apple is due to unveil iPhone OS 4 in a couple hours and as we've told you, third-party multitasking is everybody's main expectation for this one. Let's see why Apple may have changed its mind about this and how could they make it work.
As you know, Apple has been categorical about multitasking on the iPhone so far; it causes various performance issues, it's complicated to deal with, and therefore, was banned. On top of that, the first iPhone didn't have much apps before the App Store so it simply wasn't worth it.
A lot has changed since; there are now tons of apps, our iPhones are much more powerful and while I don't think it really influenced Apple, the competition (read: Android) allows it. The trade-off between usefulness and simplicity has changed. Will this be enough to change Steve Jobs' mind? Maybe, but only if it's done Apple-style.
To smooth the issues, there will be limitations. First of all, it's clear that you won't be able to background an unlimited number of apps. The iPhone 3G might be allowed one or no app backgrounding, the 3GS and the iPad maybe a bit more and we'll see about the iPhone 4.
Secondly, Apple might also require developers who want their Apps to run in the background to pass a supplementary control in the approval process. This way, we'll just be able to background apps that are specifically developed for this. I mean, backgrounding heavy-duty games is never a good idea, even on a desktop.
As to how it will look like for us; it's rumored to look like expose on a mac, with app icons showing up instead of the windows. Lastly, the only way they can possibly make it launch is via a double or triple press of the home button.
That's my take for now and we'll see how it really goes in a bit.
