Apple’s fourth iPhone operating system does not support multitasking. Nowhere on this planet is there a true multitasking OS which can run on a mobile phone because nowhere in existence is there a phone with two screens. Multitasking in the computer world is indeed a reference towards being able to run two or more side by side but true multitasking is when humans do two things simultaneously. Therefore, multitasking is limited to a set number of things.
You may say that you’re multitasking when you’re switching between Twitter and Facebook like greased lightning but in all honesty you as a human being are only completing one task at a time before moving onto a second task before moving back to the first. True multitasking comes when two different human senses are used at any one time, so while your eyes and fingers may be tweeting, your ears are listening to music from iTunes.
It’s as simple as that.
This new iPhone multitasking feature is even less of a multitasking system. It singles out just a select few services which you can have running in the background while using a whole other application elsewhere on the iPhone. You can only:
- Play music in the background.
- Keep VoIP calls running.
- Keep GPS running for social networks.
- Keep track of notifications.
- Keep track of task management.
- Switch between regular apps.
To bring up the app switching bar the iPhone user must press the home button twice, scroll along the row of app icons and tap the one they want. Notice how there is no background process for instant messaging or conversation-based applications.
If that wasn’t enough of a disappointment you’ll also be quite shocked at the fact that only third-generation iPhone and iPod Touch models can handle multitasking. Not even the iPad will be getting this feature when iPhone OS 4 hits Apple’s download store in the summer.
Come on Apple, sort it out.
2 comments:
Apple said play music with Pandora. Does this mean Spotify and last.fm aren't allowed?
I think it was just an example. For sure there is an API, which the app just have to use. I "keep VoIP calls running" is not correct as well - in the demo a voice call was received, when the app was in the background.
When I switched from a PC (running Linux) to a Mac I noticed already, that not active programs seams to be aware of their background existence and sleep - instead consuming processing power, because the user might want to give his input.
By limiting multitasking to services, which only make sense running in the background, a better way of multitasking would be indeed achieved! Why a program would have to run with full power on the cup, if the user would anyways not give it any new tasks? Its super, if a OS function handles this.
I think twitter and other im's might work as follows: The app is in a sleeping mode, where the state of the app is stored in RAM, but no processes are executed. If a message for that app arrives a popup notification asks the use, if he wants to wake up the app. In essence the app only tells the os daemon to watch out for his messages and wake him up, instead that every app is listening for itself.
Background musik, finishing a download or a computation in the background might work similar: The app starts a process, which is doing the task. All other processes, like the one waiting for user input, are sleeping. Once the task is finished (never for background music) the user is notified.
All-in-all I think it is a very elegant way to handle multitasking. Basically the only running app is the "buttler process" of the os, that whatches out for changes an app has to react to, instead of leaving this task to all apps. What a user would have from multiple running processes, which basically do the same thing?
We will have to see, if the iPad might be faster when running multiple apps compared to a higher powered laptop :)
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