Multitasking Could Have Been Better...

[DaGreat01]

I've looking around YouTube at all the multitasking demos OS 4 and to tell you the truth, it doesn't look as good as it could have been.

For one thing, why did Apple decide to put all of the apps that are running into one row? They could have make it take up the whole screen when you double clicked, or 3 rows like it is in folders. That way you wouldn't have to scroll to the sides when switching.

The thing that looks to be the most annoying is the way you have to close the apps. If i don't quit the apps as im done using them, in what really is a task manager, then at the end of the day im going to have like 20 app icons (5 rows of 4). It is going to be REAL annoying to hold the apps, wait till they giggle, then hit the minus. Steve said at the keynote that they are late in the game at some stuff, but when they do get to it, they do it better (like copy paste), but im pretty sure Palm does a better job of quitting apps in the background. Maybe a swipe up or down of the app icons to quit the apps would have been better.

Anyone have any other thoughts or comments on this?

 

[kdarling]

I often think that Jobs gave his employees a directive:

Do not implement anything in the same way as anyone else.

Sometimes that works out very well. Sometimes not.

 

[Emulsion]

I agree. Apps should background themselves if you don't want them to. Plus. I agree with the retarded way of closing apps in the multitasking row. Why not just drag the icons off the dock like you do in OSX?

 

[Gurtz]

Multitasking is set up on the iPhone so you never have to quit apps. Apple doesn't want the end user to have to worry about anything. The "task manager" is there for force-quitting applications.

 

[ajohnson253]

I am not impressed with it either. I feel like he shouldn't have even added this feature. Just left it alone. Either do it all the way, or don't do it at all. It seems half done b

 

[maflynn]

I think apple seems locked in on its current ui design and so its bending over backwards trying to bolt on further capability, and try to make it look good and function seamlessly. I'm, not sure they succeeded in this attempt.

task managers are not evil and in one window/display you have a list of all running processes. You can then select multiple items and close them off.

I've not yet loaded OS4 onto my iPhone so all I'm going on, is the keynote speech. Perhaps when I actually get to use it, I'll change my opinion. My phone is too important for me to load something that is buggy and the current beta is a bit unstable.

 

[Rhalliwell1]

I agree. Apps should background themselves if you don't want them to. Plus. I agree with the retarded way of closing apps in the multitasking row. Why not just drag the icons off the dock like you do in OSX?

All apps go onto the 'multi tasking dock' but they only background if they are enabled to do so (at the moment none are!) see the dock as a fast application switcher which shows your most recent apps.

You cant drag a running app off the dock in OSX.

 

[goobot]

it should keep the - for all of the apps like when deleting them off the home screen so i dont have to keep holding them down. also i should be able to choice to background an app.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

I like the way they implemented it. Why have an easier way to close programs such as sliding them up from the dock when you don't have to quit them? They designed this feature so that you don't need to actively manage apps.

 

[DaGreat01]

I like the way they implemented it. Why have an easier way to close programs such as sliding them up from the dock when you don't have to quit them? They designed this feature so that you don't need to actively manage apps.

Yes, I understand that, but when you can only see 4 at a time, i think you would want to quit some, so that when you are switching between like 4 apps you wouldn't have 3 on the 1st list of 4 and then have to swipe for the 4th or something like that.

I wouldn't have a problem with the way you have to close apps if more than just 4 were showing. The multitasking icon list should be a full screen or at least 3 rows like the folders. Obviously if you are going to switch apps you don't need to see the one you're switching from, so why not take up more of the screen for the task manager.

Idk, i just think they could have done a way better job. But its still in the Beta stage so hopefully something will change.

 

[doubleatheman]

I really hope their is a option like "only run 4 most recent apps in background"

and then if there are more than 4 it will send those apps to a "fast switching" mode.

In all honesty I don't think I will ever need more than 4 most recently used apps in the background (other than mail, phone, safari & ipod, which already stay open). Make it an option the number of apps that you want in the background.

I really hope in the final version of 4.0 that this issue is fixed. I agree it would be annoying to have to quit the apps that way if you want a faster phone.

I really want multi tasking, But make it a choice of how much of it the phone will do.

 

[Matthew Yohe]

Beta 1.

 

[d21mike]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.4 Mobile/7D11 Safari/531.21.10)

I strongly agree as well. To the other post about fast task switching. I agree. How will we know which one's are there for fast task switch and which are running. I would like to say which can be running and there should be some indication that they are running.

 

[CocoaPuffs]

Beta 1.

Agreed. These are surface issues that can easily be resolved. The toughest part was to accomplish multitasking the Apple way, and the rest will be polished up eventually.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Beta 1.

Does anyone have information on how many features appreciably changed between the different beta versions before the final release? I thought they just fixed bugs, not added anything...

 

[nuckinfutz]

You're making this more difficult than it has to be.

The apps are in a save state. If they end up consuming too memory then the iPhone quits the app that's been in the save state the longest (I believe)

The reason why Apple doesn't display the multitasking apps in the full window is because you may not want switch apps. The double tap of the home button may have been inadvertant. In the case of an inadertant double tap the window slides up, you say "oops" and double tap again and you never leave the app your in now.

Apple doesn't want people to be confused and taking them from their app to a new display of apps is going to throw people who don't know the phone.

 

[G77]

Apps are not running in the background...

Apps are not running in the background (with exception of using multitasking apis, but there are no such apps yet), they are paused and sitting idle in the memory. OS will "kill" the app when more memory is needed, so the is no need for killing anything. Double home button functionality is JUST a switcher.

You my be interested in this article http://daringfireball.net/2010/04/mobile_multitasking

 

[gibbz]

Does anyone have information on how many features appreciably changed between the different beta versions before the final release? I thought they just fixed bugs, not added anything...

They add features between betas. For instance, they added more springboard pages between OS 3.0 betas 1 and 2.

 

[MassiveAttack]

I often think that Jobs gave his employees a directive:

Do not implement anything in the same way as anyone else.

Sometimes that works out very well. Sometimes not.

About multitasking on iPhone:

"We weren't the first to this party but we're going to be the best"-Steve Jobs

What a douche!

Backgrounder (on a JB device)wipes the floor with official iPhone 4.0 multi-tasking. Steve Jobs just doesn't get it

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

They add features between betas. For instance, they added more springboard pages between OS 3.0 betas 1 and 2.

Thanks. Any more instances of changes like this from anyone who knows of them would be great. I never kept track of what changed between betas (not a developer or anything).

 

[nuckinfutz]

About multitasking on iPhone:

"We weren't the first to this party but we're going to be the best"-Steve Jobs

What a douche!

Backgrounder (on a JB device)wipes the floor with official iPhone 4.0 multi-tasking. Steve Jobs just doesn't get it

Why? What's so great about Backgrounder?

Saw some video.

Backgrounder was cool until the moment Steve Jobs took the stage and delivered the Apple solution.

I noticed there's no way to control Pandora when it in the background. I didn't see any videos that show if Backgrounder can save the state of the app so that if I need to jump away I can return right back to where I was before.

I think it was an acceptable hack but Apple's mutltitasking solution is superior on every level. Plus I get background location and local notification and of course the saved state.

 

[CocoaPuffs]

About multitasking on iPhone:

"We weren't the first to this party but we're going to be the best"-Steve Jobs

What a douche!

Backgrounder (on a JB device)wipes the floor with official iPhone 4.0 multi-tasking. Steve Jobs just doesn't get it

"I like to make up quotes from other people so I can bounce my ignorant comments off them." - MassiveAttack

 

[vistadude]

Double clicking is one of the worst ideas ever, especially on the home button. They should have thought of something much better.

 

[sinsin07]

Saw some video.

Backgrounder was cool until the moment Steve Jobs took the stage and delivered the Apple solution.

I noticed there's no way to control Pandora when it in the background. I didn't see any videos that show if Backgrounder can save the state of the app so that if I need to jump away I can return right back to where I was before.

I think it was an acceptable hack but Apple's mutltitasking solution is superior on every level. Plus I get background location and local notification and of course the saved state.

backgrounder + music controls 1.2 FTW (music contols also addresses another lacking feature, skip tracks with bluetooth stero headset)

 

[IntelliUser]

Ok, I know you're all so excited about multitasking and yadda yadda yadda. But seriously, just how many apps are you planning to run? I mean would you really run THAT many apps? Let's see: iPod (or Pandora), Safari, Dictionary, Email, News Reader...then what? Game#1, Game#2, Game#3...Game#20? I don't have that may apps open in OS X, why would I want to open so many on a portable device?