DailyTech - Apple SDK Documentation Reveals Ban on Multi-tasking

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Brandon Hill (Blog) - March 11, 2008 4:16 PM

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12 comment(s) - last by MarkyMark92103.. on Mar 12 at 9:27 AM

Steve Jobs gestures on stage with an iPhone during its launch in January 2007. (Source: Reuters)

Apple intentionally limits effectiveness of third-party apps with SDK

Last week, Apple announced some highly anticipated updates for the iPhone. First up were a slew of features aimed at making the iPhone more "up to snuff" with corporate customers. Some of these features include push email support, WPA2/802.11x and support for Microsoft Exchange.

The other big news to come out of the Apple camp was the announcement of the iPhone SDK. With the SDK, developers can develop third-party applications for the iPhone and publish them to the iTunes App Store for $99. Developers that choose to charge for their apps will see 30% of their profits go to Apple while those who provide their apps for free will see no additional fees.

Apple showed off the simplicity of the SDK and the ease of development by proclaiming that EA Games whipped up a functional version of “Spore” for the iPhone in two weeks. Other apps created using the SDK included “Super Monkey Ball” and AOL Instant Messenger.

Some of the limitations inherent to the SDK were left out during the press conference, however, and the folks over at TechCrunch have uncovered a rather glaring omission.

Two of the limitations are rather obvious to observers: iPhone users will only be able to use VOIP via WiFi and SIM unlocking programs will be banned from the iTunes App Store.

The biggest limitation, however, is that only one third-party application can be run at a time with the iPhone. Users won't be able to switch between applications without the original instance being shut down completely. TechCrunch goes on to explain, "Instant messaging applications can’t run in the background and collect messages while you are doing something else. Leave the application to take a phone call, and it shows you offline. The bottom line is - any application that wants to periodically interact with the web to do stuff, won’t be able to on a continual basis."

The limitation is probably in place due to the limited processing power and memory footprint on the iPhone. Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating systems allow users to easily switch between multiple applications with "Smart Minimize". However, the Smart Minimize feature can leave Windows Mobile-based Smartphones feeling quite sluggish when a number of applications are loaded up in the background.

Apple likely wants to avoid receiving any flak -- as Microsoft often does for Windows Mobile -- for decreased system performance when running a number of applications in the background. By limiting users to just a single open application, Apple effectively shuts the door on the issue even cropping up.

Apple’s decision to remain so controlling of the iPhone's inner workings though will greatly limit the usefulness of many of the third-party applications that will be developed for the iPhone.

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Very typical

By darkpaw on 3/11/2008 4:59:38 PM , Rating: 3

I really don't where the secret is, Apple always exerts maximum control over it's minions. Even after releasing the SDK, they'll still have complete control over everything except hacked phones.

RE: Very typical

By mondo1234 on 3/11/2008 5:20:53 PM , Rating: 2

True, apple does control alot of their environment, but the title is a little misleading. This doesn't seem as much an issue with the SDK, but more an issue with the Iphone OS. As stated in the article, it probably has to do with the performance hit similar to Windows Mobile.

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RE: Very typical

By monitorjbl on 3/11/2008 5:57:21 PM , Rating: 2

Agreed. While I can certainly see Apple imposing artificial limitations on its products, this one seems to have a valid reason. The iPhone GUI is very responsive, and I would assume it has to do with the fact that the OS allows very little to occur in the background.

That said, does anyone know how the iPhone handles program terminations? Are processes just killed, or will third-party apps be able to save their current state to the flash storage if a phone call comes in? I'd hate to almost beat a level in a game only to have a call from a friend reset the whole level.

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RE: Very typical

By Brandon Hill

(blog) on 3/11/2008 6:23:45 PM , Rating: 2

I updated the article title.

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RE: Very typical

By eman7613 on 3/11/2008 10:20:54 PM , Rating: 2

still kinda misleading, i just now saw the artical and thought "did apple ban apps from being multi threaded? how would that work with those smooth animations?" i don't really see this as a problem, makes perfect sence to do.

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RE: Very typical

By Brandon Hill

(blog) on 3/11/2008 10:34:30 PM , Rating: 2

When I think multi-tasking, I think having multiple windows/applications open at one time and flipping back between them all.

When I think multi-threading, I think processor design.

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RE: Very typical

By soydios on 3/11/2008 10:57:12 PM , Rating: 2

/agree
the first title was misleading, as the policy has a valid reason. the new title is fine, though

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Charge to post it?

By Screwballl on 3/11/2008 5:32:10 PM , Rating: 2

they charge people to post it on their site (making them money) and then allow others to charge for the created add-on that another person could do themselves (or get an SDK expert to make for them)???
What better way to shaft the customers of more money! Great job Jobs, I'll stick with my Linux based handhelds and computers that have completely open source and free applications..

Image

By noirsoft on 3/12/2008 12:21:48 AM , Rating: 2

Is that Steve doing his interpretive dance symbolizing the contortions people go through in order to work with Apple hardware?

Interesting question...

By MarkyMark92103 on 3/12/2008 9:27:43 AM , Rating: 2

Can someone give an example of an application that NEEDS to run in the background?

And would that application need to be using the power-hungry cell phone, bluetooth, or WiFi radios in order to maintain a network connection to poll something?

Would that application be smart enough to not be tugging on the network or the CPU while you are asleep or while at work (ahem :-). How would it know to stop or slow down its updating?

Also keep in mind that unlike a laptop with, say, a Core 2 Duo with lots of SDRAM (like a MacBook AIR) the iPhone has a small ARM processor that does not support virtual memory and can't afford to have applications and their graphics and resources sitting in memory unless there is a really good reason.

If you have these little apps running in the background, how would the user discover what's running so they can shut it down if the don't REALLY need it to get the interface to be perkier or get their battery to last longer?

If things get sluggish and frustrating, would they just learn to restart their iPhone? These are the kinds of uncool user experiences that Apple wants to avoid through the programming practices for mobile devices they've outlined in iPhone SDK and the introductory videos.

Mark Hernandez
San Diego, CA

Please do your research

By MarkyMark92103 on 3/11/08, Rating: -1

By MarkyMark92103 on 3/11/2008 6:05:47 PM , Rating: -1

There have been a rash of blog posts lately that just show how underinformed bloggers are. Please do your homework and then write articles that reflect well on your website. There is no "dirty little secret" here. Informed people know that the battery is the limitation and bane of all portable and mobile computing. If we had unlimited battery power, we could do everything we now do on our desktops. Besides, nothing has even been released yet, and Apple can change it's mind depending on special cases, yet you portray intentional deception going on. Have you watched any of the free videos that introduce development for the iPhone?

If an instant messenger is running in the background, how can you tell that is the reason your battery suddenly died? Have you noticed that your iPhone doesn't get email when you haven't been using it? There are complex issues here with no silver-bullet answers. If you can make your case to Apple, I'm sure they will bend to your needs if it's good stuff.

Do your homework and be more of a journalist, and less of a sensationalist. Thanks for listening. Mark Hernandez, San Diego, CA.

RE: Please do your research

By Bioniccrackmonk on 3/11/2008 6:32:51 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
Informed people know that the battery is the limitation and bane of all portable and mobile computing.

I think you should have read the article and actually comprehend it prior to making your post. Battery power is not the answer why multi-tasking is not allowed on the iPhone, it has to do with the hardware in the device itself. As noted in this blog, the Windows smart phone can do multi tasking but it becomes slugish not because of battery power, but mainly due to limited resources of the hardware inside.