Apple’s iOS 4 Introduces Multi-Tasking, Folders and Other Improvements

The moment millions of iPhone and third-gen iPod touch users have been waiting for is here… iOS 4 has been released to the wild. The OS formally known as iPhone OS is now available for installation (via iTunes) and as expected, brings a slew of new features and other enhancements. Of them all, multi-tasking is sure to be the focus of many users, while folders, an improved Mail and even spell-checking is sure to please others.

Multi-tasking has been one of the biggest complaints from iPhone users since the initial launch, and for good reason… there’s been none. Unless of course you were using one of Apple’s home-brewed applications, in which case there was no limitation. But for the hundreds of thousands of third-party applications that people use on a regular basis, multi-tasking has been drooled over, and now it’s here, albeit in a slightly limited form.

For things like audio, VoIP and location polling, the new multi-tasking feature is going to be hugely appreciated, because rather than being confined to a particular app, such as newscasts or Pandora, you can now utilize them and work on other things at the same time. This is a huge improvement over the previous iOS for obvious reasons.

The downsides of Apple’s multi-tasking implementation are limited, but should be mentioned nonetheless. For those hoping to be able to update a particular app in the background, it’s just not going to happen. Like before, the app is required to remain in the forefront during the process. The other “downside” is that certain apps that don’t target certain iPhone features will merely pause when switched out of, but this is still a minor issue in the grand scheme.

Aside from multi-tasking, the new folders feature is one that really catches my eye. This aims to appease those with numerous apps and don’t want to scroll across 10 or more pages to find what they’re looking for. If you tap an app and drag it onto another, a folder is simply created. From there, you can add more apps to it, up to 12, which will make finding what you need a lot easier. It’s a bit strange that folders are limited to 12, however, as being able to group 13+ or more games into a single folder would increase the convenience level greatly.

Other updated features include a far improved Mail app, iBooks support, playlist creator, a 5x digital zoom for the camera, the ability to tap to adjust the camera’s focus, spell-checking as mentioned before, the ability to use Bluetooth keyboards and even the ability to gift an app to a friend or family member.

There’s much more than what I mentioned here that’s been added or improved, so I recommend checking out Ars Technica’s in-depth look. One thing I didn’t touch on is the amazing improvements for developers, but there wasn’t much need to. If you’re a developer, you’re likely already on these updates like butter on bread.

Because iOS multitasking isn’t really multitasking in the traditional sense—it’s certainly not what you get on a desktop computer, or even what you get from Apple’s own iPhone apps. Apple claims that it only allows for certain functionality so that the OS can continue to preserve battery life and performance in a sane manner. So, what exactly can you do with this new feature? Really, the answer isn’t so much that apps will be “multitasking,” but rather that they’ll be “doing a few things in the background”.