We have heard a few times before that Apple [AAPL] are intending on allowing multitasking on their iPhone 4.0 OS upgrade which will perhaps, show up with the Apple iPhone HD (aka iPhone 4G).
AppleInsider managed to get hold of details that indicate that the iPhone multitasking of 3rd part apps will function in a similar way to Expose on the Mac.
Those familiar with the design of iPhone 4.0 said that the user interface will resemble Apple’s desktop Expose feature, in that a key combination — reportedly hitting the Home button twice — will trigger an expose-like interface that brings up a series of icons representing the currently running apps, allowing users to quickly select the one they want to switch to directly. When a selection is made, the iPhone OS zooms out of the Expose task manager and transitions to that app.
Currently the iPhone OS 3.x builds do allow multitasking. When working on your phone you might have noticed that Apple apps pre-installed on the device can actually work in the background such as the iPod, text messages etc… However, for various reasons Apple restrict multitasking artificially on third party apps for various reasons such as security issues, battery life issues and general memory management issues that may arise when several apps are all trying to access various portions of the iPhone at the same time.
When using multitasking on the iPhone OS 4.0, thumbnails of the application wont be created like they are on Expose, but instead users will see the icons for the applications that are currently open. In general, the multitasking section of the phone will function somewhat like Expose does on the Mac, but toned down for the smaller screen.
It will be interesting to see how multitasking works on the iPad when it receives the OS 4.0 update. Will that be more advanced due to the larger screen that can handle renderings well along with the faster CPU that runs inside.
We also hear that the ability to add individual contacts to the home screen is also going to be possible in the next version of the OS where you can simply add your best friend or family members to your homepage for a quick dial.
One think to remember is that this isn’t official information although it has come from a good source. We’ll never know for sure what will be included in iPhone OS 4.x until it is officially announced which we expect could be later this year.
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