The Multitasking iPhone

The iPhone has dominated the smartphone market for quite some time.  It has done so many things right that the only way to compete against it is to attempt to turn its strengths into perceived weaknesses.  In effect, if you can't make a better device/platform, try using misleading marketing to muddy the water.

The iPhone OS, that runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the upcoming iPad, was engineered to support multiple applications running concurrently.  Apple does this with its own built-in software but prevents third party developers from doing so.  It does this for performance, security, and usability reasons.

Apple has created a sleek and elegant platform where users can easily jump from one app to to another by returning to the home screen and launching another app.  It is two taps on the device folks.  Apple encourages developers to save the state of their apps so that users returning to the app can pick up where they left off.  This method ensures the app that is currently open has access to the vast majority of the resources the device has to offer.  This means better performing apps, the ability to execute much more complex software, and an extended battery life.

If multiple apps were allowed to run in the background, it would be more difficult to prevent malicious software from executing unwanted code or to capture the user's activities.  The fact that the device shuts down the execution of software and frees up the memory that the application was using makes the system more secure from outside threats.

On an iPhone you really don't have that much screen real estate to begin with.  So you can really only be working in one app at a time anyway.  So the need for multitasking can really be divided into two camps: the need to switch apps quickly, and the need to have certain collaborative functions of your apps running constantly.  For the first, its only two taps...enough said.  Its in the developer's hands to make the app launch quickly and smoothly.  The second need is legitimate.  Apple has its innovative push notification service that partially solves this problem, but not in all circumstances.

Rumors abound as to what Apple will do in its subsequent iPhone OS releases.  I expect Apple to add something akin to a windows service that will not allow full apps to run in the background, but will instead allow a "lite" version without an interface that will allow selected functions of the app to continue.  I'm sure Apple will police what goes on in these "lite" services, but this will eliminate the technical hurdles developers face trying to develop collaborative apps that would otherwise require the app to be opened at all times (An app that reports a technicians GPS location perhaps).

What I know is that Apple will do, or not do, whatever it takes to protect the user experience.  And Apple's 2.5 billion app downloads in 2009 demonstrates that it's user experience reigns supreme.