iPhone OS 4.0 recap: The Goods, in full. [iPhone OS 4.0]

The iPhone 4.0 Preview event just wrapped up and wow, I’m pretty impressed. While 2.0 -> 3.0 wasn’t that big of a transition, 4.0 is huge! Yes, a lot of the features have been around for months to years on other platforms, but if Apple can actually pull it off as they claim, it will sail past previous attempts at this smartphone thing. So, without further delay, iPhone OS 4.0.

Multitasking -3rd party background apps are now supported

• When in any app, double tapping the home button now brings up a hiding dock that displays all of the running apps — nice!

• 7 multi-tasking API’s for developers to use.
  1. Background Audio: only uses resources for audio playback in the background — smart.
  2. Background VoIP: Skype and friends…in the background. When not running in the foreground, you can receive normal phone calls as well. Navigation outside of VoIP apps is handled like the phone — double title bar.
  3. Background Location: GPS/location aware apps can now update, direct, notify you in the background — great!
  4. Push Notifications: A bit misleading — not really a new multi-tasking service as it’s been there all along. Oh well, it’s in!
  5. Local Notifications: Like their “bigger brother” Push notifications in operation, except they don’t need to use Apple’s servers to send/receive information.
  6. Task Notification: Get notified when file download/upload is complete — handy.
  7. Fast App Switching: Seems kind of like it should belong as a “service” of the other things mentioned above. But nonetheless — switch between apps quickly…pretty self explanatory.
  8. First gen iPhone (EDGE) and first gen iPod Touch a no-go!!

To recap, the above — Multitasking, Folders, improved Mail, iBooks, Enterprise, preview of Game Center, and iAd — are the supposed 7 “Tent Poles” of iPhone OS 4.0’s 100 new features. iPhone OS 4.0 will be coming to all devices except first gen (EDGE) iPhone and first gen iPod Touch. iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G will have limited new feature support with the biggie being no multitasking.

So there you have it. How’s it look everyone?!

Personal Opinion:

I really like the multitasking and realize you can support old hardware forever, but the iPhone 3G is more than capable. Jailbroken iPhones running Backgroundr have proven in this time and time again. So that is disappointing. But new iPhone 4.0 hardware will likely cause the eyes of many to glaze over and open their wallets. So it may be a moot point anyway.

As far as the rest of the features seen today — it’s definitely making me look at the iPhone platform again. Though, the uber tight control Apple employs is still a worry for me. We’ll see how it goes…

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