iPhone now has multitasking...

[AstroManLuca]

Pretty much, Steve Jobs is a perfectionist, the iPhone hasn't had multitasking until now because he wanted it exactly a certain way. The 3GS is A LOT more powerful than any previous model, I'm sure he wasn't happy with the performance on pre 3GS devices, but it's not hard to JB and add it to any iPhone/Touch you want. And I doubt Apple did it to make money off people upgrading to 3GS's. Because the magnitude of people who would spend $10 on an upgrade to a existing device would > how many would buy a totally new device by a long shot.

Lol I have no problem people liking Apple pdroducts but you seriously have a blind love for anything they do

LOL, if it wasn't QueBert I would have thought it was someone posting sarcastically.

This is really obviously an example of Apple holding back features in order to make it look like they're progressing. Do you really think it took them over a year to come up with a good multitasking system? Of course not. But if they had released it when the 3GS was new, then iPhone OS 4.0 wouldn't have had nearly as impressive a feature list.

Until now, iPhone users have talked about how multitasking is so useless and an unnecessary drain, but now it's the opposite. They parrot Steve Jobs talking about how they weren't the first to the party but they're the best. They act as though Apple's multitasking is going to be so much better than on Android or webOS, as though it will magically avoid any lagginess just because Apple says it will.

One thing I will say, though. I don't fault Apple for leaving out the original iPhone or for restricting multitasking to the 3GS. It's a wonder they've continued to push out software updates for their older phones for as long as they have. Most mobile device makers abandon their hardware within a few months.

 

[TheWart]

Kinda sad that the iPhone 3G can't get all the features of the newest OS. People complain about Android's OS fragmentation, but that's largely due to its open nature and the fact that it's being used by multiple manufacturers with many custom UIs on top.
Apple completely controls the iPhone's hardware and software, yet they are now starting to run into the same problem. I think it goes to show it's basically unavoidable - mobile devices are advancing at a very fast pace right now.

As a 3G owner, it does kind of stink but the phone is 2 years old this June, which is eons in the phone world. I would say limited platform schisms for a device 2+ years old is acceptable. On Android, you can have fragmentation across phones that are released in the same quarter, or even month. I personally don't think that is the end of the world, but some people can't stand it.

 

[TheWart]

LOL, if it wasn't QueBert I would have thought it was someone posting sarcastically.

This is really obviously an example of Apple holding back features in order to make it look like they're progressing. Do you really think it took them over a year to come up with a good multitasking system? Of course not. But if they had released it when the 3GS was new, then iPhone OS 4.0 wouldn't have had nearly as impressive a feature list.

Until now, iPhone users have talked about how multitasking is so useless and an unnecessary drain, but now it's the opposite. They parrot Steve Jobs talking about how they weren't the first to the party but they're the best. They act as though Apple's multitasking is going to be so much better than on Android or webOS, as though it will magically avoid any lagginess just because Apple says it will.

One thing I will say, though. I don't fault Apple for leaving out the original iPhone or for restricting multitasking to the 3GS. It's a wonder they've continued to push out software updates for their older phones for as long as they have. Most mobile device makers abandon their hardware within a few months.

I really don't think that Apple has a features roadmap all laid out, only to artificially delay certain ones. Just like it is absurd some Android devices dont support multitouch...I dont think it is to make some future update appear cooler. Rather, I think that is because there are real issues (whether licensing or tech related) preventing it.

On that note, much like Android users on this forum pooh-poohed the necessity of multitouch, many iphone users (myself included) were/are ambivalent about multitasking. Sure, some apple fanboys will claim that Apple has "teh best" implementation ever, but I dont think you can claim that all of them are. And who is to say Apple's multitasking implementation isn't one of the better methods? No one has gotten to really play with it so it is too early to tell. I have used a number of Android phones, and I personally don't care for the task manager thing it has going, but that is just me.

In the end, everyone wins, cause everyone gets more features and the tech advances.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I really don't think that Apple has a features roadmap all laid out, only to artificially delay certain ones. Just like it is absurd some Android devices dont support multitouch...I dont think it is to make some future update appear cooler. Rather, I think that is because there are real issues (whether licensing or tech related) preventing it.

Yeah, that's true. I don't think Apple has been artificially holding back on features. More likely is they didn't really start working on multitasking until Android lit a little fire under their behind and made them realize that they should do something to compete or else they'd look stupid. I don't buy that it took them years to figure out multitasking, though.

I do think Apple's task manager is maybe a little better than Android's. Not really that different. Neither one is nearly as good as the way webOS multitasks, but webOS has other problems.

 

[TheWart]

Yeah, that's true. I don't think Apple has been artificially holding back on features. More likely is they didn't really start working on multitasking until Android lit a little fire under their behind and made them realize that they should do something to compete or else they'd look stupid. I don't buy that it took them years to figure out multitasking, though.

I do think Apple's task manager is maybe a little better than Android's. Not really that different. Neither one is nearly as good as the way webOS multitasks, but webOS has other problems.

Yea, I would imagine that the constant drumbeat of "no multitasking!!" finally became too much for Apple to ignore, especially when non technical outlets like CNN started criticizing the lack of it on the iphone and now ipad. I would also agree that Android has spurred Apple to improve various aspects more quickly, which once again is a win win for everyone. Gotta love competition.

 

[BigSmooth]

As a 3G owner, it does kind of stink but the phone is 2 years old this June, which is eons in the phone world. I would say limited platform schisms for a device 2+ years old is acceptable. On Android, you can have fragmentation across phones that are released in the same quarter, or even month. I personally don't think that is the end of the world, but some people can't stand it.

Good points. It's just kind of unfortunate that Apple has continued to sell the 3G with no real caveats in terms of the upgrade path even as 4.0 was in the final stages of development. From what I can tell, the average person thinks the 3GS is simply a faster version of the 3G with a few extra features - they don't understand all of the limitations.

I can easily see someone that bought a brand new 3G a month ago being really surprised and disappointed that their phone won't be able to be upgraded. Of course, some people won't care at all.

 

[TheWart]

Good points. It's just kind of unfortunate that Apple has continued to sell the 3G with no real caveats in terms of the upgrade path even as 4.0 was in the final stages of development. From what I can tell, the average person thinks the 3GS is simply a faster version of the 3G with a few extra features - they don't understand all of the limitations.

I can easily see someone that bought a brand new 3G a month ago being really surprised and disappointed that their phone won't be able to be upgraded. Of course, some people won't care at all.

I do agree with you there. I don't think most people (myself included) really cared to look at a phone's specs (in terms of processor, ram, etc) beyond the obvious screen size, screen type, etc etc.

 

[SolidSnake42]

Skype but no Google Voice? Hmmm...

 

[dwell]

Skype but no Google Voice? Hmmm...

Been on the iPhone for a while, just not an app:

http://www.google.com/mobile/voice/

Works 100% though.

 

[Bateluer]

Good that they finally caught up to the competition. Better late than never, I guess.

 

[zerocool84]

Apple always does things like this. They hold back on basic features and introduce them much later one by one and 99% of the time will charge people extra for it. They`ve done it on the iphone, ipod, and mac. The users are the onea who say they don`t need it until apple releases it then hail it as awesome. It`s the apple way.

 

[zerocool84]

Dp

 

[dooxer]

I guess it doesn't look like a rumor based on the live blogs of the event. But, if you've had the phone for four years, now is as good a time as any to start thinking about an upgrade.

definitely look at upgrading hardware. or at least wait until this new stuff comes out with built in features.

 

[pm]

Multi-tasking is nice, although it seems kind of like a 'meh' way of doing it. Other then letting a few types of apps keep running in the background it seems as though the biggest change is just a new UI feature to let you quickly switch between recently used apps...like android, although admitantly it looks like a better way of handling it than android.

This pretty much reflects my thoughts on their multitasking. It's not really true multitasking - just 7 API's. Ok, 7 is better than none and it is multitasking, and I'll use it and will like it... but it's like multitasking-lite. It's almost like it's enough of a bone to silence the critics.

The app switch thing is pretty neat though. Although the double-tap home button already has so many functions that it's a little odd that they would add yet another to it (control music interface, back to home screen, over to search).

Email was a nice update, although I'd think they could probably have pushed such a change through a small update.

Overall, about what I was expecting. However, I don't see anything here enticing enough to consider a switch until theres a new iPhone.

Agreed on these two as well - although the email change will make my life a bit easier. I can now merge my work email and my personal email.

Wallpaper is something they should have added a while ago.

The folder thing is also something that they should have added a while ago. Slick interface for it though.

Focus on video will be handy.

I thought the Bluetooth keyboard was a nice touch. Those little laser bluetooth keyboards are small and work pretty well (co-worker has one) http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

Overall, like all updates, I'm pleased enough. I'm looking forward to the email. I think leaving the 3G iPhone people out is annoying... I remember when I had a "2G" iPhone and I didn't get the MMS upgrade and it was annoying (but I added it in later with hacking, so it worked out).


You know, the only real complaint that I really have with my iPhone is the battery life. On a 3GS, if I leave it on with 3G all day, I last about 11 hours. Which seems too low by about 5 hours. If I switch to Edge (and the 3G only when I need it), then I can get it up around 20 hours... if there's one thing that I really want to see in the next iPhone, it's better battery life. I guess I'm not alone; that was the biggest criticism in the JD Powers survey as well. Make the next one have an even better camera, and an OLED display with better resolution and then increase the battery life by 50% or more, and I'll ante up my paycheck for the next hit, I mean iPhone.

 

[QueBert]

Until now, iPhone users have talked about how multitasking is so useless and an unnecessary drain, but now it's the opposite. They parrot Steve Jobs talking about how they weren't the first to the party but they're the best. They act as though Apple's multitasking is going to be so much better than on Android or webOS, as though it will magically avoid any lagginess just because Apple says it will.
.

Not really true, I have about 30 friends with iPhones exactly 2 of them care about this feature they rest told me they could give 2 shits about it. I don't care about it at all. I would gather the iPhone owners who are excited about this feature coming are the ones who wished it had been here all along. People who didn't care about it last week won't care about it this week. I couldn't be any less impressed with this 4.0 update, as most of my iPhone owning friends. I don't own a compatible device and won't be upgrading to add a feature I'd never use. I have Multitasking on my iPhone & Touch and I've used it exactly twice just to see what the fuss was about.

 

[dguy6789]

If OS X didn't have multi-tasking and Jobs told people they didn't need it, you would have countless Mac users saying they don't need multi-tasking on their desktop or laptop machine.

And here's proof that Atom destroys the iPad in performance(not that anyone with any understanding of CPUs had any doubt):

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3640/apples-ipad-the-anandtech-review/17

 

[vshah]

surprising that they didn't include an IM api for their "multitasking"

having google talk constantly on is one of the best things about android. cuts down on texting a lot.

 

[Deeko]

surprising that they didn't include an IM api for their "multitasking"

having google talk constantly on is one of the best things about android. cuts down on texting a lot.

I presume their push notification service would do the job for IM?

 

[Deeko]

Not really true, I have about 30 friends with iPhones exactly 2 of them care about this feature they rest told me they could give 2 shits about it. I don't care about it at all. I would gather the iPhone owners who are excited about this feature coming are the ones who wished it had been here all along. People who didn't care about it last week won't care about it this week. I couldn't be any less impressed with this 4.0 update, as most of my iPhone owning friends. I don't own a compatible device and won't be upgrading to add a feature I'd never use. I have Multitasking on my iPhone & Touch and I've used it exactly twice just to see what the fuss was about.

I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who has a 3G. He was like "meh, I don't care, multitasking doesn't matter to me". Then I brought up the Pandora example, and he said "Oh yea, actually, not being able to do other things while I have Pandora on really pisses me off".

Its one of those things where they might not realize they actually would want it, until they have it.

 

[hanoverphist]

Pretty much, Steve Jobs is a perfectionist, the iPhone hasn't had multitasking until now because he wanted it exactly a certain way. The 3GS is A LOT more powerful than any previous model, I'm sure he wasn't happy with the performance on pre 3GS devices, but it's not hard to JB and add it to any iPhone/Touch you want. And I doubt Apple did it to make money off people upgrading to 3GS's. Because the magnitude of people who would spend $10 on an upgrade to a existing device would > how many would buy a totally new device by a long shot.

total bullshit. every company is in business of making money, apple is no different. he may have held it to his own standards (lol) but it is all money driven.

fwiw, i can switch between powerpoint, word, excel, web browser (two windows with 3 tabs each if i use opera 9 and 10 at the same time), have music playing (two songs at once if i use wmp and s2p at same time) and it will start to stutter. this has been available to me since i got the phone last year. oh, i forgot google maps and youtube. im glad google maps finally got the text fields to allow me to paste into them, it was annoying before that.

 

[EightySix Four]

Having played with the dev build since yesterday, I can definitely say folders rock. The browser is a bit unstable and it seems my service in my house has gotten worse (by a bar or so, speedtest confirms I've lost about 200kbps out of 2mbps), but as a whole I'm happy with it and looking forward to the final thing.

As far as the multitasking "lite" claims, I completely agree that is a lite version of multitasking, but until there is a breakthrough in battery technology, I honestly would prefer them to do it this way. I have enough problems with battery life on my iPhone, as does my roommate with his Droid.

 

[Deeko]

My experience with several smartphones over the past few years is that the CPUs are remarkably battery efficient. The 3G radios are generally decent, too. What sucks your battery like there's no tomorrow is the screen. So if you're actively using the phone - whether its 1 app or 4, its draining the battery hard. If the phone is just hanging out in standby, crunching some app or pulling from the internet, it does pretty well.

Android has a cool feature that tells you exactly what is draining your battery. With light usage, after a day when the battery is almost depleted, my screen is between 30-50% of the battery drain...even though the screen was only on for maybe 10-20 minutes throughout the day.

So basically, while multitasking could hurt battery life marginally, as long as we have 3-4" screens lit, we're gonna see pretty crappy battery life.

 

[TheWart]

My experience with several smartphones over the past few years is that the CPUs are remarkably battery efficient. The 3G radios are generally decent, too. What sucks your battery like there's no tomorrow is the screen. So if you're actively using the phone - whether its 1 app or 4, its draining the battery hard. If the phone is just hanging out in standby, crunching some app or pulling from the internet, it does pretty well.

Android has a cool feature that tells you exactly what is draining your battery. With light usage, after a day when the battery is almost depleted, my screen is between 30-50% of the battery drain...even though the screen was only on for maybe 10-20 minutes throughout the day.

So basically, while multitasking could hurt battery life marginally, as long as we have 3-4" screens lit, we're gonna see pretty crappy battery life.

Out of curiosity, is the ipad's impressive battery life due to merely the presence of more battery cells (making it heavier) or has apple come up with some more efficient way to power the display? I am guessing it is the former, but hoping it is the latter.

 

[dguy6789]

Almost certainly the former. The iPad's internals are extremely similar to a smart phone's. You have all that extra space to store lots and lots of battery. One can make their phone have a 100% or more increase in battery life by putting in one of those extended batteries that are only a couple mm larger than the stock battery, so imagine what Apple could do with all of the space in the iPad.

 

[EightySix Four]

Out of curiosity, is the ipad's impressive battery life due to merely the presence of more battery cells (making it heavier) or has apple come up with some more efficient way to power the display? I am guessing it is the former, but hoping it is the latter.

The iPad has two iPhone sized (physically) batteries in it, but each one has 2.5x the capacity of a 3GS battery.