iPhone OS 4.0 to Finally Bring Multitasking?

March 11, 2010 By Nick Mokey

After years of intentional handicapping, Apple may finally be preparing to set the iPhone free and run multiple applications at once.

The thorn in the iPhone’s side that has quietly hobbled it since day one could soon be plucked from its silver shell. New rumors allege that multitasking – a simple feature offered on a variety of other mobile operating systems from Windows Mobile 6.5 to Google Android – will finally arrive with iPhone OS 4.0.

According to AppleInsider, “people with a proven track record in predicting Apple’s technological advances” have spilled the beans on multitasking in a coming update, which will allow third-party apps to run simultaneously in the background.

The new task manager will call upon technology used in Mac OS X, but specifics have been withheld. No firm timeline has come to light, but the same sources indicate the update is still in the works and has a “way to go.”

The iPhone OS already supports preemptive multitasking, but Apple has restricted its use to only its own services, like the phone, SMS and iPod. This explains how users are able to talk on the phone or listen to music while they surf in Safari, but can’t run a third-party app like Pandora to pull down tunes at the same time.

The challenge for Apple engineers will be to unchain this currently locked functionality without compromising security, reliability, or making the interface more confusing. Despite the drawbacks, the iPhone’s unitasking approach to apps has also lent it an air of simplicity and ease that Apple risks losing with a sophisticated task manager.

Interestingly enough, jailbroken iPhones already have the ability to run multiple apps at once through third-party tools like Backgrounder and Kirikae. Their implementation allows users to hold down the home button from any app to “background” it, then double tap it quickly to see a task manager with different apps open.

Showing 12 comments

Ian Bell at 5:39pm 15th March 2010 haha sorry for interrogating you. Was just curious!

Cheers
Harsh Agrawal at 5:26pm 15th March 2010 I should stop commenting at this hour. Its 5 A.M.
Meanwhile news for you : Paypal released an updated version of iPhone application. Just tried and its amazing :)
Ian Bell at 5:20pm 15th March 2010 Why is your spelling so bad on here when your posts look fine on your website?
Harsh Agrawal at 4:40pm 15th March 2010 Hey Ian
Not really just showing my Love for this new feature.. I already haver this multi-tasking in my iPhone 3Gs Cracked..but getting into official one will be too good...
Ian Bell at 4:30pm 15th March 2010 Dude, are you spamming the site trying to build link-backs to your blog?
Harsh Agrawal at 4:13pm 15th March 2010 I believe this one feature should be from the first version.. Though I hope its not a rumor..
dang at 7:44am 12th March 2010 I would bet, if this is true, that it will be available on a new iPhone that has more power and memory to handle having multiple applications open.

They set it free on iPhones first, then on the iPad.
sam free at 4:30am 12th March 2010 i think this is such a good idea from apple, (allowing iphone users to multi task) if they do do it, iphone will be much better to use. free iphone http://lovefreeiphone.com
sam at 8:15pm 11th March 2010 Why don't they open the Iphone to Sprint, i want one really bad but att sucks for service,come on spread your horizons think about the millions of sprint users that would buy one.
rusty_shackleford_33 at 5:25pm 11th March 2010 I think Apple disabled it off the bat to make the iPhone simpler and more stable, but now has finally reached a point where the drone of complaints has become a roar. My guess: There will be a switch you need to flick under settings to enable it, with a warning that it may make the phone slower, less stable, etc. That way casual users don't suddenly find themselves in over their heads.
Ian Bell at 4:06pm 11th March 2010 You know, if this comes through, I bet there will be a ton of people complaining about the iPhone crashing, not being stable or too slow as a result.
DavidGodfrey at 3:25pm 11th March 2010 Um, I don't think that's going to happen. If OS 4.0 is going to have multi-tasking, why wouldn't they have already implemented that into the iPad. Besides, Apple never listens to the public. They don't hear our pleas and cries about what we want from them.