Image Source: installerapps.com
Earlier today, Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider cited sources in the mobile industry saying that Apple was serious about allowing background applications. John Gruber of Daring Fireball backed this up, saying he heard something similar from a decent source a few months ago. I ‘ve just spoken with a trusted source who confirmed the news as well.
OK “ this is officially my favorite iPhone rumor ever. The excerpt above is from a post today at TechCrunch by MG Siegler. It ‘s the first rumor I ‘ve seen “ and with a lot of good sources attached to it “ that says Apple has reconsidered their stance on background apps, and that in fact they ‘re working on solutions for allowing apps to run in the background.
Hooo-effin-RAH to that. There are lots of qualifiers included within the TechCrunch post “ issues with stability and performance of the iPhone if background apps are allowed, of not wanting to detract from the solid user experience, and of battery drain and so on “ but supposedly despite all that, Apple is working on it, and working towards a solution to let us run at least some apps in the background.
I might be way over-optimistic on this “ but to my mind, if they ‘re working on it they will get it done, and done well. Hell, Windows Mobile devices have managed it for years “ maybe not always exceptionally well, but they ‘ve done it.
I can ‘t believe that Apple can ‘t come up with something in this area if they actually want to. And if, as the TC article suggests, they now want to at least partly because of the Palm Pre and its multi-tasking capabilities “ then I believe they ‘ll manage it “ and if the implementation of copy&paste in OS 3.0 is anything to go on, they ‘ll manage it in a very effective way as well.
Here ‘s a bit more of some words that are so good to see in that TC article:
Basically, my source says that while this is in no way a done deal yet, Apple is definitely trying to come up with a way to offer background support for third-party apps. They went on to note that while Apple may have something to say about it at WWDC, it ‘s very unlikely that any solution would be ready at that time, and could be a situation similar to how Apple announced Push Notification at WWDC last year but said it was coming in a few months (which it later was delayed until iPhone 3.0).
And it ‘s entirely possible that Apple won ‘t even have anything to say about it at WWDC as it ‘s still believe to be in the relatively early planning stages. All that is for sure is that Apple is telling some people that it is very aware of the community ‘s desire for background tasks and that it thinks it may have a solution to offer on the horizon.
How good does that sound? Very, very good to me. I don ‘t mind if a solution does not come at WWDC or during this summer. Don ‘t mind if it takes several months and we have to be patient “ I reserve the right to be an impatient moaner down the road, but for now I am just very excited to hear that they have adjusted their attitude on this subject and are working towards a solution, allegedly. Also don ‘t mind if stricter vetting is done on apps that want to run in the background (that ‘s a very good thing), or if only a certain number of apps can run in the background at once “ that ‘s also sensible.
Background apps is a huge thing in my view. A smartphone is lightyears smarter if its is capable of proper multi-tasking. Push Notifications do not come close to making up for a lack of background apps.
So yeah “ I can ‘t think of any rumor I would rather see come true. š
Check out MG Siegler ‘s post HERE for lots more juicy details.
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TAGS: Apple, background apps
