With the release of
iOS 4 looming over the iPhone world, and all of the new OS's features bouncing around in our heads like little gift-wrapped packets of sunshine, I can pretty much guarantee that the most anticipated feature to hit our iPhones (3GS and 4 only, ladies and gentleman) is going to be
multitasking.
Multitasking. Say it to yourself: it sounds good, doesn't it? We've been waiting for this feature for years - it's our right, we deserve it, we need it.
But it's only when we pause and think that we realize: actually, we've had it for a while. As an interesting article on
TUAW states; as long as our email is checked, SMS, MMS and pushed messages reach us, and as, as long our iPod continues to play when we open another application, our iPhone already has the ability to multitask.
But not to the extent we want, right? I mean, we want every app under the sun to multitask - it would sure make our lives a whole lot easier, right?
Well the sad reality of it is that this isn't going to happen. At least not right away.
Developers first need to make their apps "multitaskable" and resubmit them to the App Store. The floodgates opened a
while ago now - but if an app hasn't been updated by iOS 4's release date, then it isn't going to multitask. It's going to quit and end whatever you're doing, and you're going to have to start all over again.
Furthermore, it's been
claimed that multitasking is pretty confined to three single areas: audio, VoIP, and location data.
Which is great for apps like
TomTom, who've already
announced that they'll be multitasking by iOS4's release. Your navigation commands will still be spoken even if you're browsing around on a different app, which is great.
And if
Skype update in time, then you'll be able to continue your call on the Home Screen - or even while checking your emails or texting, which is also great.
However, your favorite RSS reader will not be able to update itself automatically, which is a shame. And other applications, outside of the club, won't be able to take advantage of iOS 4's multitasking - because essentially, "multitasking" doesn't mean "background updating", the latter being something we might just have to wait a couple more years for.
But don't be disillusioned: Apple have stated that:
Apps can remember where you left off.
And that's pretty sweet. The downside is that developers first have to add support - but any dev in his right mind will be adding support for this ASAP.
According to a few developers who talked to
pocket-lint.com, don't hold your breath for universal multitasking. It really is up to the developer, and not all are going to implement it. Even though they should.
And why should they?
Because at the end of the day, we all have to remember one simple fact: the iPhone is a
phone, and every so often, phones ring. And if your phone rings while you're in the middle of an app that does not support multitasking, your progress is lost. It's gone. Finito. Goodbye. And this is
annoying.
I guess in the meantime we're just going to have to wait for iOS 4, and see how things work out from there. But seriously, I'm not holding my breath for multitasking - at least not to begin with. Hopefully most developers will add support, but those apps that don't have it are going to be tough to get on with.
If you want some more information on the multitasking situation then check out
this article by Marco Arment. He's the lead developer of
Tumblr and
Instapaper, and he knows a thing or two.
[via
TUAW]
