Apple announced Monday that on April 8 it will give the public a sneak peek at its iPhone 4.0 operating system. The news comes as Apple buzz is at a fevered pitch with the successful launch of its iPad tablet computer on Saturday.
"Get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS," the event invitation reads. With no further explanation provided, here's my best guess at what to expect from Apple's event:
Likely: Multitasking
If you follow Apple news and rumours, you've likely heard that multitasking is finally coming to the iPhone, according to AppleInsider's anonymous sources. The interface will reportedly resemble the Expose feature in Mac OS, with all open programs revealed when the user double-clicks the iPhone's Home button. Multitasking always seems to have a place on iPhone OS wish lists, and if the rumors are true, Apple's finally found a method it's comfortable with. The rising popularity of multitask-friendly Android phones only makes this feature more likely for the iPhone OS this time around.
Somewhat Likely: Global Mailbox and Home Screen Contacts
Also according to AppleInsider's report, pre-release builds of iPhone OS 4.0 show a global inbox that merges multiple e-mail accounts into a unified view, plus the ability to add specific contact names as icons on the iPhone's home screen. There's a chance these features could be scrapped before Apple's event, but they seem like solid minor additions to pad out the big announcements.
Definitely Possible: GPS Navigation
With Google adding free, turn-by-turn, voice-guided GPS navigation to its Android phones, and Nokia doing the same for several of its handsets, the pressure's on Apple to offer something similar. Apple acquired mapping company Placebase last summer, and also posted a job ad last November seeking an engineer to help overhaul the iPhone's Maps app. The stage is set for big changes to iPhone Maps, and hopefully GPS Navigation is among them.
Highly Unlikely: Verizon iPhone, 4G iPhone
It's worth pointing out that Apple's event is aimed at the iPhone's operating system, not hardware. Don't expect to hear anything about Verizon iPhones or next-generation iPhones. Just as Apple announced the 3.0 OS in March 2009, and the iPhone 3GS in June, any news on the hardware front is probably a few months away.
Pure Speculation: Email Attachments, Contact and SMS Groups, Rotation Lock
These were among the lists of gripes I compiled last year as a fairly new iPhone owner. I hate that you can't attach files within the e-mail app (you can only send them from outside apps), and the inability to create groups for contacts or text messages is a pain. And with the iPad getting its own handy rotation lock switch, it's time Apple built a solution into the iPhone OS as well. It's all wishful thinking, but these aren't impractical or controversial improvements.
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Comments received
iGav said on Tue, 06 Apr 2010
Top of my wishlist is a calendar app that actually allows me to schedule meetings properly such as accepting invitations on phone, inviting people on phone, and changing meetings with invites on phone
To me this is the worst thing with the current software
So many of my friends have iPhones and yet, if we discuss meeting up some time we either each have to put an invite into the phone at the time we discuss it or one of us has to remember to send the group invite once back at home - absolutely rubbish
How steve let that one out the door, I just don't know
ari-boy said on Tue, 06 Apr 2010
I want the ability to put groups of apps together in a folder – so instead of having 10 or 11 'home' screens, I can have just a couple that contain folders that I can go into to view say all my game apps or all my multimedia apps, etc.
Surely that's not too much to ask for, is it??
Drumhum said on Tue, 06 Apr 2010
I fully agree with whats been said.
Its going to be big improvements to what we already have that will count. There's been plenty of time to fully test the ipgone "in the field" and see what folk really do with their iphone now to get things really proper polished.
I am almost certain we'll see a change to the way apps are displayed. With ten or more pages of apps the current system is groaning big time.
I just hope the tweaks are not too demanding of 1st and 2nd gen iphones they feel sluggish enough already.
What is getting me excited is what we're likely to see with 4G phones. Its justifiably time for a new look let alone some super cool feature (or ten) that only apple can dream up - And now Apple are designing their own chips for the ipad I reckon we'll get a super speedy iphone at least.
iPads, new iphone(s) and new MacPros. I reckon this year will be a good one for apple. Watch their stocks rocket.
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