Multitasking: does Apple hate it?

[Aston441]

I was just remembering how awful the Macintosh operating system was before Steve Jobs scraped it and built OS X on top of NeXT.

One of the huge gripes I had was Mac multitasking in the late 90s was essentially non existent, even though Unix and other workstation and mainframe OSes had been multitasking for decades, and usable multitasking had been in consumer grade devices like the Amiga, the Atari, Acorn, etc for more than 10 years. Even Windows multitasking was passable.

When iOS came out, I could understand freezing applications in the background to make it possible for such a low powered low RAM device to be responsive.

What's the point of that today? It's extremely annoying to me that I can't, if I wish, allow an app to run all the time in the background.

The only argument I can see here to constantly shut down apps is battery life, however that could be the default, and I should have the option to let something run if I need it to.

 

[Mabus51]

It’s still battery life. Yes there have been some improvements in tech to work with the constraints. But battery tech hasn’t improved much since release in the 1800s. Sure methods in battery design have changed but its largely the same tech now as it was then.

 

[macduke]

I wish I could allow third party apps to persistently upload in the background. Now it's like a 10 minute limit, even after all these years, and yet iOS can upload photos to iCloud all day in the background. This would be especially useful for Lightroom on the iPad Pro, especially since Adobe doesn't allow you to multitask that app for whatever reason (high use of resources?). Otherwise if I could just "minimize" it to a small column I could work in another app.

 

[Aston441]

It’s still battery life. Yes there have been some improvements in tech to work with the constraints. But battery tech hasn’t improved much since release in the 1800s. Sure methods in battery design have changed but its largely the same tech now as it was then.

I'm guessing you have a good background in chemistry.

I'm always a bit dismayed when lay people think that one day we're going to have a magic battery that has more energy usable energy in it by volume then gasoline.

That being said, lithium batteries are being used in impressive ways lately.

Like replacing the turbo pump in the Electron Rocket launch yesterday. WOW!!!

 

[chabig]

It's extremely annoying to me that I can't, if I wish, allow an app to run all the time in the background.

Without a visible UI, what do you propose this app should do?

 

[Aston441]

Without a visible UI, what do you propose this app should do?

Example: Google Photos. I need it to upload photos in the background. If I put in the the background, iOS shuts it down.

 

[chris_b]

Without a visible UI, what do you propose this app should do?

• Download large files, i.e. Transmit (discontinued but I still use it)
• Keep SSH connections open longer, i.e. Prompt
• Keep my web conference session running, i.e. Webex

There are more but those are the most annoying to me, especially Prompt.

 

[chabig]

Are you sure? Background networking is one of the tasks specifically allowed. Maybe the Google app isn’t coded to take advantage of it.

 

[mi7chy]

I believe the original vision for limiting multitasking on iOS was for making the device more responsive but along the way someone in supply chain took over and used it as an opportunity to keep hardware specs like DRAM minimal to increase profit margin and push new device sales. As much as iPad is touted as a PC replacement it's strange that I can't even put something as basic an active SSH session in the background without it dying after 3 minutes (used to be 10 minutes with iOS <= 6). Even the Apple IIgs from the 1980s could preemptively multitask with GNO or $5 Raspberry Pi Zero in current day. I also have Android devices that can SSH, torrent, run DLNA/uPNP media/file/web server, etc. in the background so it would be nice that it comes to iOS.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Example: Google Photos. I need it to upload photos in the background. If I put in the the background, iOS shuts it down.

I only open my google photos app every month or so, yet it still uploads all of my photos in the background. I know this as I use a google pixel as well.

 

[Aston441]

I only open my google photos app every month or so, yet it still uploads all of my photos in the background. I know this as I use a google pixel as well.

That's the point I was trying to make. Apple shuts the app down in the background. I know Android can leave things running in the background.
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I believe the original vision for limiting multitasking on iOS was for making the device more responsive but along the way someone in supply chain took over and used it as an opportunity to keep hardware specs like DRAM minimal to increase profit margin and push new device sales. As much as iPad is touted as a PC replacement it's strange that I can't even put something as basic an active SSH session in the background without it dying after 3 minutes (used to be 10 minutes with iOS <= 6). Even the Apple IIgs from the 1980s could preemptively multitask with GNO or $5 Raspberry Pi Zero in current day. I also have Android devices that can SSH, torrent, run DLNA/uPNP media/file/web server, etc. in the background so it would be nice that it comes to iOS.

I suspect you're at least partially correct. They get to cheap out on RAM especially.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

That's the point I was trying to make. Apple shuts the app down in the background. I know Android can leave things running in the background.
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I suspect you're at least partially correct. They get to cheap out on RAM especially.

The app works fine in the background on my iPhone, sorry if I wasn't clear. It always updates there pictures taken on my iPhone without opening the app.

 

[mi7chy]

iOS only allows limited background execution. Refer to table 3-1.

https://developer.apple.com/library.../BackgroundExecution/BackgroundExecution.html

 

[Aston441]

The app works fine in the background on my iPhone, sorry if I wasn't clear. It always updates there pictures taken on my iPhone without opening the app.

I've never seen that. Maybe it's been updated to do that recently. I'll have to try.

 

[darkgoob]

I was just remembering how awful the Macintosh operating system was before Steve Jobs scraped it and built OS X on top of NeXT.

You’re one of us! You’re one of us!

- guy from 12 monkeys who was a prophet in the middle ages then shows up on the streets of the future in 1995

 

[cruisin]

I've never seen that. Maybe it's been updated to do that recently. I'll have to try.

Some apps like Dropbox or Google Photos use your changing location to wake up. If they see you have changed location recently the app gets permission from iOS to refresh and it uses this to continue uploading. You also need to open the app once in a while to convince iOS that you actually use the app.

See https://help.dropbox.com/mobile/location-data for Dropbox.

 

[haruhiko]

Some apps like Dropbox or Google Photos use your changing location to wake up. If they see you have changed location recently the app gets permission from iOS to refresh and it uses this to continue uploading. You also need to open the app once in a while to convince iOS that you actually use the app.

See https://help.dropbox.com/mobile/location-data for Dropbox.

Wow didn't know that. Thanks very much.