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iOS 8 Likely to Bring Split-Screen Multitasking to the iPad

jrswizzle said:
Or, we literally hope Apple will do it better because Samsung's iteration is limited to few apps and is often disabled as worthless.....
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Why even mention Samsung and its limited add-on/patch to Android, when the real spearhead in tablets split screen multitasking is Windows 8? :confused:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ENZTNdy3zQ

Edit: Following a comment from Roland.g, those sensitive to non-english languages, please mute the video :p. You can still see how multitaking works in W8.1. If for any reason you are unable to mute the video, put the hands on your ears and say "LALALALALALALALA!" :D
If you are also sensitive to seeing foreign words, please close your eyes too. :p
 
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If Apple makes a 5.5" iPhone 6, and enters the realm of phablets, does that still mean it's an iPhone or does it become an iPhad.
 
roland.g said:
Das ist ein tolles Video. Bis die ganze Sache endete in Deutsch. Dies ist besonders nützlich bei MacRumors wo ist alles auf Englisch.
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The concept of Windows split-screen multitasking comes through very nicely even though the video is in German. You can watch it on mute if listening to a foreign language is bothersome, and it will still come through very nicely.
 
kaielement said:
I could care less if apple adds this or not. I wouldn't have a need for it at all.
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Concur. On small screens (anything under 13") it isnt very useful. I have used it and its just not something that is useful for the average person. I'm sure people could find real use for it, but that would be a niche user.

I do use split screen every day... On two 22" interconnected monitors. Very useful there. ;)
 
Why is it likely that they will bring this to ios8? I didn't see anything in the article to suggest Apple is thinking about it. Just that there is a concept video made by some third party out there.
 
roland.g said:
Das ist ein tolles Video. Bis die ganze Sache endete in Deutsch. Dies ist besonders nützlich bei MacRumors wo ist alles auf Englisch.
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"This is a great video. Until the whole thing ended up in German. This is particularly useful at MacRumors where everything is in English."


I did not know images needed traslation:eek:. I think the video is self explanatory.

I do not speak German, and still I found the video interesting and well made. You are right, I should have dismissed it as soon as I did not hear a Texan or a deeply British accent (whatever you prefer). Hell, I should only listen to videos narrated by David Attenborough or James Earl Jones using the Queen's English:D

Seriously, as I said, I just though that seeing multitasking in action was enough. You can mute the video and is still ok.
 
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I want it on the iphone. Or at least I want to be able to push an app to a small window whilst I use the main bulk of the screen.

I love the way it works in the YouTube app, but would like to be able to keep the small video running whilst using other apps - especially safari. When researching using a video app, it allows you to use the web to search on an idea whilst continuing to listen. Like doing a web search in a lecture hall.
 
Lloydbm41 said:
Concur. On small screens (anything under 13") it isnt very useful. I have used it and its just not something that is useful for the average person. I'm sure people could find real use for it, but that would be a niche user.
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I don't regard writing email/tweeting/posting on FB as something only for a "niche user". All of those activities are very often done while having a web browser running. Or having two emails open side-by-side. Very common activities that all would benefit massively from split screen multitasking.
 
Laughing out loud to all Apple Fanboys dissed the same feature when it was on Windows tablets and now praise it as new innovation :D

IMO it's about time to get real multitasking to iPad. It has been pretty hard to multitask with some apps.
 
Michaelgtrusa said:
It was a long wait, but worth it.
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I like the idea of the split view (a response to one of the few redeeming UI features of Microsoft Surface) in general.

However the arbitrary sliding the divider can break a lot of apps as iOS apps do not have design guidelines for arbitrary app view rectangles.

I can see sliding the divider while scaling the size of an app keeping the classic 3.5" or 4" screen proportions.

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kaielement said:
I could care less if apple adds this or not. I wouldn't have a need for it at all.
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Til you are on a conference call an want to take notes while browsing a web site. I bet you'll use this by the end of the year.
 
JamesDo said:
Buy a 13-inch MBP, you whiner.
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Not whining at all, as a professional user I share the same concerns about the iPad as many of my colleagues, these are observations.

Its a superb device but you have to find apps to get around things that should be native and creating anything on it (I know office is coming so this will change) at present is a pain, the email client is useless as well for attaching files. The MBP's are great but I like how small a tablet is. I have considered a MBA as well. The fact is a dual booting tablet covers every single base.

Again I appreciate most peoples needs are covered with an iPad and that's why they've sold so well. If you don't think things on the iPad can be done any better then you're deluded.

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Reason077 said:
Sounds like what you really need is a MacBook Air.
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Very valid point, its also on my consideration list :) - I just like how compact tablets are.
 
jm001 said:
It was never meant for this. The iPad was never meant to replace a laptop and multiuser on it would be a mistake. Thise 16 GB will fill up in no time.
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I would be more than happy with separate profiles for things like Mail and Safari. Apps and media could remain common between users. This wouldn't take much space.
 
Still find this whole muitlitasking thing rather silly. It's a tablet. Swipe between apps you need and be done with it. Why cut the screen in half? Stop trying to make the iPad into a laptop. It's a tablet.

And, split screen on the already puny and useless phone screens? Can't wait to watch the phone dweebs mushing their faces even further into their phones so they can be tweeting while texting at the same time now. Hilarious. :)
 
DavidLeblond said:
My Galaxy S5 has that feature. I've never used it. I played with it once and then disabled it.
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Your Galaxy S5 also has a fingerprint sensor right? But the 5s' is better...

Just because a product has "already had a feature" doesn't make it good. You may have disabled a feature on that phone, but let's see how Apple's works.

The LG Prada had a touchscreen before the iPhone and look how that turned out...

Microsoft had tablets before the iPad and look how those turned out...
 
s2mikey said:
Still find this whole muitlitasking thing rather silly. It's a tablet. Swipe between apps you need and be done with it. Why cut the screen in half? Stop trying to make the iPad into a laptop. It's a tablet.
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It's 2014, not 2004.

Tablets will eventually replace laptops like laptops are replacing desktops.

On music apps, split screen or even better multitasking is needed. I want to open Moog Filter over Garageband for tweaking both. Or over some synth that i can play and tweak the parameters on Moog.
 
Freeks said:
It's 2014, not 2004.
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... also add that windowed multitasking worked just fine on 2004 PC tablets too; for example, the HP TC1100.

Of course, back then, you needed to use (with the more advanced models) Wacom pens, not touch (few models supported touch input back then and the ones that did only had resistive touchscreens - capacitive only came around 2006-2007). Nevertheless, it worked just fine.

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sshambles said:
Useless feature. Not required
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For you.

I sincerely doubt it'll pull any new users in based upon it.
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It will. After all, one of the major advantages of MS' and Samsung's tablets is split-screen multitasking. No wonder more advanced people have constantly been asking for the same on iOS too.

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newyorksole said:
Microsoft had tablets before the iPad and look how those turned out...
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They did not cater for the couch surfing, non-tech-savvy folks, that's right. However, for power users (ones that don't refuse operating a tablet with a pen and can put up with the somewhat lower battery life and more weight), those tablets were excellent and in many regards superior to any iPads of now. For example, because of Wacom pen support even in early (2003) models like the HP TC1100. (Which was a wonderfully light and sleek device and had great battery life (around 2 hours) by 2003's standards.)

That is, low pre-iPad tablet PC sales figures don't necessarily mean cr@ppy, useless models. Not in the least.
 
Not true

Aluminum213 said:
iPad Air with 1GB RAM can't handle two we pages at once


How the hell is this going to work with past models? Would need AT LEAST 2GB of RAM to run smoothly
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Go look at the Jail Break multitask feature running on not only Airs but 3's and 4's. What are you basing this on?
 
jacobj said:
I want it on the iphone. Or at least I want to be able to push an app to a small window whilst I use the main bulk of the screen.

I love the way it works in the YouTube app, but would like to be able to keep the small video running whilst using other apps - especially safari. When researching using a video app, it allows you to use the web to search on an idea whilst continuing to listen. Like doing a web search in a lecture hall.
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I agree, i love the way youtubes app is done and hope they can use that to grow off of.
 
Keerock said:
Go look at the Jail Break multitask feature running on not only Airs but 3's and 4's. What are you basing this on?
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*yawn*

Please read the multitasking / memory handling threads here at MR. I've posted tons of explanations on this.

In a nutshell: it's mostly UIWebView (on which Safari is also based) that consumes a LOT of memory on all Retina iPads, particularly on 64-bit ones still running on 7.0. Other apps, unless they also use UIWebView, are significantly less hard on the memory. This is why windowed multitasking works pretty well with Quasar (iOS5) / OS Experience (iOS7) unless you start opening tons of / large Web pages.
 
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