iPhone OS 4.0 – Unveiled!!

At 10:00 am today, Apple held an event to give developers a sneak peek at iPhone OS 4.0. Over the last few months there has been much speculation and a laundry list of hopes for what the next installment of iPhone OS will bring.

As Steve Jobs took the stage, applause roared out. As always Steve began by boasting some statistics for the iPad and App Store etc. He then went on to say there are 1500 new API’s for developers and 100 new features for users. He goes through the top 7 new features;

1. Multi-tasking

Yes that’s right we have all been waiting for this one!! iPhone OS 4.0 now has Multi-tasking, and it is brilliantly done. With a simple double-tap of the home button the screen raises up to reveal a scrollable dock showing all your currently open apps, clicking an app opens it up to the exact point you left it. This means that games will automatically pause and continue where you left off.

This is also great for apps like Skype, who have developed their app further so you can receive calls while in any other app, and you get a pop-up to let you know someone is calling.

This will also background the Location function meaning that apps like TomTom can run in the background and still alert you for the next turn!

Apple states that there implementation of Multi-tasking is designed specifically not to drain the battery and to preserve ram, so as not to slow things down too much. Sadly, this feature will only be available to iPhone 3Gs and iPt3 users due to the processor needed to run it, but OS 4.0 will be available for all devices.

2. Folders

Folders looks awesome!! Just like Categories for Jailbroken users but much better (Obviously Apple have been keeping a close eye on the jailbreak scene).

To create a folder you simply push an icon to make it wiggle and drag it over the top of another app that you want to make a folder with. The folder is then created and automatically named according to what genre the apps sit in the App Store! You can also rename the folder AND place it anywhere you want, even the dock. The folders icon then changes to a multi-icon. What’s more is that you are no longer bound by the 180 app limitation, you can now have over 1200 apps!!

You may have noticed that the demo iPhone appears to have a custom homescreen wallpaper, that’s because it IS a custom wallpaper, another new feature in OS 4.0.

3. Enhanced Mail.app

Can anyone say UNIFIED MAILBOX!!! At long last Apple has done what they should have done from the start. You can now view all of your email, no matter what account it be, all in one mailbox viewer. There is also a fast inbox switcher if you want to focus on just one account.

You can also now have more than one Exchange account, organize emails by thread, and open attachments with apps!!

4. iBooks

Yes thats right, Apple will introduce the iBooks app for iPhone too. A great little ebook reader that you can use to purchase books from the iBookstore and read anywhere, plus you get a free copy of Winnie the Pooh!! Wow! Lol even Jobs wasn’t too enthusiastic about this one.

You will also be able to sync your books wirelessly between platforms too.

5. Enterprise

Not much to say on this one really.

Better data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution etc.

Support for multiple Exchange accounts, Exchange Server 2010, and new VPN options.

All of this just helps to make the iPhone one of the safest and most secure smart phones on the market.

6. Game Center

This is basically Apples version of XBox Live. Yes you heard me, Apple has created their very own social gaming network, complete with the ability to invite friends to play, Leaderboards, Achievements and Matchmaking. This is pretty huge!!

Scott Forstall then goes on to reel off some stats compared to the Nintendo DS and PSP with regards to games etc.

7. iAd

This one we had heard whispers about prior to the event. Apple has developed their own mobile advertising system. Steve had this to say, “We have a lot of free or reasonably priced apps… we like that, but our devs have to find ways to make money. So our devs are putting ads into apps, and for lack of a better way to say it, we think most of this kind of advertising sucks.” Ouch for Google there!!

Steve went on to say, “When you look at ads on a phone, it’s not like a desktop. On a desktop, search is where it’s at. But on mobile devices, that hasn’t happened. Search is not happening on phones; people are using apps. And this is where the opportunity is to deliver advertising is.” and, “The average user spends over 30 minutes every day using apps on their phone. If we said we wanted to put an ad up every 3 minutes, that’s 10 ads per device per day. That would be 1b ad opportunities per day.”

Basically the ads won’t yank you out of your app and open Safari, everything is contained and viewable from inside the app, this certainly puts a new take on things, for the better if you ask us.

The iAd network is built into the iPhone OS, so the possibilities are endless.

“Because iAd is in the iPhone OS itself, we have figured out how to do interactive and video content without ever taking you out of the app.” Steve explained. “For devs to add this to their apps is really simple. They can do it in an afternoon. Apple is going to sell and host the ads, and we’re going to do a 60/40 split.” Sounds good to us! Steve went on to demo an interactive ad for Toy Story 3. It works seamlessly and looks great, heck, clicking ads might just become enjoyable rather than a hardship! This could change the way we advertise and view ads via mobile phones forever!!

Summary

So we have seen 7 out 100 new features, and some of them were well worth the wait!!

• Multi-tasking – AT LAST!!
• Folders – Categories on steroids!
• Enhanced Email – No longer will the Mail.app be the bane of our lives!
• iBooks – enough said
• Enterprise – Yawn
• Gamer Center – WOW!!
• iAd – Impressive!!

To clarify, OS 4.0 will be available for all devices iPhone 3G/3Gs and iPt2G/3G this summer, but sadly due to processor requirements, some features, most notably Multi-tasking, will ONLY be available to iPhone 3Gs and iPt3 users.

Just like last year we expect the bidding to commence for slots on developers accounts for the beta releases of OS 4.0, and just like last time we remind you that a jailbreak will NOT be released for ANY beta firmware versions for obvious reasons. So steer clear of the temptation if you rely on an unlock, or simply cannot live without your jailbreak.

If you manage to get your hands on a copy drop by our forum and let us know what else is new, we will also see if we can get at least one device running it.

Thanks to EnGadget for the Images.