Report: Rumors Were Right! iPhone OS 4.0 Will Include Full Multitasking Support

[Michael Essany]

Until now, reports of full multitasking support on the iPhone have been based almost entirely on rumor and speculation. Ahead of Thursday's Apple event, it now appears that all the rumors and speculations will be vindicated. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu revealed in research note that the new iPhone OS will be “a full multi-tasking environment where third-party apps will also be able to run simultaneously and/or in the background along with AAPL’s own apps.” Wu's sources inside Apple leaked the info shortly after Thursday's event was announced.

Wu was also successful in squeezing from his sources that Apple's rumored mobile advertising API is also a go, with Cupertino choosing to call the mobile marketing platform "iAd." Now, before you think Wu is a lone rebel on the front-lines of Apple news reporting, it should be noted that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is finally hearing the same "internal confirmations" from Apple that prompted Wu's earlier revelation.

Munster, however, is taking his iPhone OS 4.0 estimates further and proposing that we may also see a new home screen and wireless syncing with iTunes. Ultimately, though, the new iPhone software is merely a grand set-up for a “new, more powerful iPhone hardware,” which most of us are expecting this summer, per Apple's rich history of revealing new versions of the mega-popular handset in mid summer.

Wu also verbalized the thoughts of many upon learning of the new iPhone OS. This development, in fact, could ultimately prove far more significant for the iPad than it is for the iPhone. "We believe this will be particularly important for the iPad," writes Wu, "due to its much faster processor and much larger screen where users will more likely want the capability to run multiple applications much like most do with their PCs and Macs. We believe this will allow AAPL to deliver a fuller and more differentiated experience on the iPad helping drive greater adoption."

Apple's iPhone OS 4.0 preview event will take place at 10 a.m. Pacific on Thursday.

[vegeto2k22]

Great Apple once again catching up to the jailbreak community...

[britcan]

cant wait

[garyshaf]

Awesome!

Mutli-tasking & wireless sync to iTunes... 2 things enough to drool over!

I, for one, am excited!

[rickybobby]

Great Apple once again catching up to the jailbreak community...

Thats all they do

[Riz007]

Jus am really really curious, can't use my beautiful iPhone 3GS cauz its locked to these frekin money hugers, AT&T, so please let me know when will these "hackers" come out with a hack for this 4.0, we gotta begin revolution against this law forbiding unlocking iPhones cauz other countries its perfectly legal to do so, I mean think about it, we pay the same $ as these loyal customers (AT&T customers)Tdo, so y can't we have the same privliges as they do???

Am I the only 1 ???

[StealthBravo]

Sounds great! Can't wait to load 4.0 on my iPad on Thursday

[Buddy17]

Great Apple once again catching up to the jailbreak community...

i must say, that you are correct! they have copied everything from the jailbreak scene. Hell, the iphone would be nothing right now if it weren't for the App Store. Hmm! i wonder where they got the idea for that???? Maybe the old school Installer??

The people who really deserve the profit from the iphone are the underground dev's working in the jailbreak community. If it weren't for them, we would probably still have a boring 1.1.3 original iphone!

[TRiPLEX]

I truely am suprised..and ashamed for having thought otherwise. Bravo Apple, bravo..

[jordonj]

for some reason im not really excited...

[Jay316]

I'm interested to see how multitasking impacts on battery life

[rickybobby]

Sounds great! Can't wait to load 4.0 on my iPad on Thursday

I thought 4.0 was only for iPhone/iPod stealth

[EdmundGerber]

cant wait

Let me expand on that - can't wait...for the jailbreak community to get rid of 'iAd'...

[StealthBravo]

4.0 will be for all devices. It will bring multi tasking to the iPad

[shadow25]

Let me guess.. All iPhones besides the new one won't be able to use multitasking because of some "hardware limitation"..

The battery is going to suck in the new iPhone, and if they redesigned the UI to something stupid, I'm keeping my 3GS on 3.1.2

[oo3]

Cool MMi got something out before the major blogs did.

I wonder if the multitasking support will be for 3GS only...

[eyepoper]

Just wondering if they are going to cut off addons like they did for 3GS and 3G..they cut the Movie maker etc from the 3G.
Are they going to cut off Multitasking from the 3G also..seeing perhaps the machine is not going to make it because it has nos a lot of Memory ??

I`m afraid that could Happend..Also they could only put that Multi tasking for only ChipA4...

So dont be so happy till we see the thing. Thats Apple!

And I think Apple should put some script that when you setup your iphone from scratch everytime or so.. you would be able to choose your Language and then the rest of languange should be deleted for SPACE, Performance etc...
having all that Languange I dont even Speak is causing a lot of space, performance drop, Apps loading bit slower etc..etc..
What do you guys think about that ???

[rickybobby]

ok thats backwards if you ask me why have a update later for multitasking on the iPad when the initial release you didnt reviews would have been better and you would have sold more

[imnew2hu]

Ok he is the run down...

iPhone 2g
iPhone 3G
iBook 700 MHz
MacBook 2.o ghz
Apple tv
iPad
And netback msi wind running snow Leo

Now with that said I'm not a fanboy by any means and that isn't the entire list of computers we run just mine.

But when 4.0 drops that's going toe a huge boost to the community.. Personaly I can't wait.

[RonHC]

i can't see multitasking happening with the iPhone 2G and 3G