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Quick Multitasking question

S

Saberon

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
982
1
I've searched for about 20 min and can't find the answer, so please don't roast me on the BBQ if this has been asked 100 times before...



Let's say I'm playing Doodle Jump, I switch to mail app and then switch back to Doodle jump. Does Doodle jump have to update the app for it to return to the exact state I left it in? Or do you only have to update your app for iOS4 if you want to use the background API's? (Ie audio/VOIP etc)

Basically what I'm trying to say is do apps need to be updated for 4.0 to support the "freeze-state" or just to support any one of the 7 API's Apple mentioned in keynote?

I hope I made some sort of sense

Thanks
 
Yes they need to be updated.

If you quite them at the moment they will just reload from the start.

Hope that helps
 
I'm not sure I'm understanding your question directly.

Basically what I'm trying to say is do apps need to be updated for 4.0 to support the "freeze-state" or just to support any one of the 7 API's Apple mentioned in keynote?
Click to expand...

I don't see the difference between your two scenarios. Yes, the app creator will have to update their app to use one of the API's new in 4.0 to use the freeze-state function. It will not just automatically use the freeze state function without the developer redesigning the app to use it.

Hope this answers your question.
 
What confuses me is in videos I've watched I'm sure i've seen the "freeze-state" being used for apps that surely haven't been updated yet...hmm. Maybe we'll have to wait another 12 days to find out for sure... lol
 
I know, I said I'm talking purely about 4.0, we can't do any of this stuff at the moment
(I was addressing the post above yours and yours appeared after I posted)
 
You need 4.0 to develop apps that take use of the APIs. You also need 4.0 for the app to support the "freeze-state" feature that you're referring to. In other words, you need 4.0 for both no matter what.

In fact, once the apps get updated they will no doubt be 4.0-only, meaning you MUST update to 4.0 to be able to use them anyway (the exact same thing happened with 3.0).

Saberon said:
What confuses me is in videos I've watched I'm sure i've seen the "freeze-state" being used for apps that surely haven't been updated yet...hmm. Maybe we'll have to wait another 12 days to find out for sure... lol
Click to expand...

Yes, it's because Apple obtains special pre-release copies of the app. Basically, they contact the developer of the app, give them a copy of the new software development kit - allowing them to access the new APIs - and they make a special version of the app specially for Apple to show off with the multi-tasking features.
 
Just a heads up. Im running iOS 4.0 so when i say at the moment it just reloads im talking from a 4.0 view.
 
Saberon said:
What confuses me is in videos I've watched I'm sure i've seen the "freeze-state" being used for apps that surely haven't been updated yet...hmm. Maybe we'll have to wait another 12 days to find out for sure... lol
Click to expand...


Ahh your talking about things like satnav programs that continue after you have taken a call. That's very different.
 
The fact that there is still confusion is confusing me. It is a new 4.0 feature. The app must be developed specifically to work on 4.0 and you must have 4.0 installed on your phone to be able to use an app that uses the freeze-state function. Forget about 3.x. Nothing related to 3.x will allow this feature to work.
 
Alright, Thanks IvanP, that answered my question. So the developer needs to actually add the "freeze state" into the app *as well* as any of the 7 API's as well that they want to. I knew the 7 API's had to be built in if so needed, but I wasn't sure if the freeze state part was app side or something the OS handled
 
Saberon said:
Alright, Thanks IvanP, that answered my question. So the developer needs to actually add the "freeze state" into the app *as well* as any of the 7 API's as well that they want to. I knew the 7 API's had to be built in if so needed, but I wasn't sure if the freeze state part was app side or something the OS handled
Click to expand...

The freeze-state IS one of the 7 API's. I think that's where the confusion is coming from?
 
Aaah! OK! Guess I was confused from the beginning. I thought the 7 API's were in addition to freeze state.

"Fast app switching - All developers should take advantage of this. This will allow users to leave your app and come right back to where they were when they left - no more having to reload the app."

Okay duh!!! Now I feel stupid....lol


And now it makes about 100x more sense...thanks everyone for help!
 
Here is a brief explanation of the 7 APIs:

Apple will basically offer 7 APIs to developers which, as I said just before, will bring multitasking to life while preserving battery juice and overall iPhone performance. And here they are:

1. Background audio – you will be able to listen to music while doing something else on the iPhone
2. VoIP (Hurray) – Skype on iPhone will offer you a totally new experience. That means you can run Skype in the background and still receive calls or instant messages
3. Background location – that means you’ll be able to use the GPS features of the phone even while doing something totally different (like listening to music)
4. Push notifications (you were expecting this one, right folks?) – turns out Apple sent out 10 billion push notifications sent in the last nine months and the service is about to get even better
5. Local notifications – “Now building on push notifications is local notifications. It doesn’t need to use our servers.”
6. Task completition – it sounds a little strange but it basically means that some apps take a while to complete their tasks, like uploading a Flickr image. Now it will all be done in the background.
7. Fast app switching – that’s an API which will be very important as the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch will basically be able to switch to apps rapidly while preserving their current state.
Click to expand...

Source: http://nexus404.com/Blog/2010/04/08...-batteries-not-to-drain-processor-not-to-lag/
 
What probably will clarify the whole thing is:

What happens when you use an app without the "freeze" API on iOS4 when you switch between apps?
 
I don't think an app developer needs to do any significant redesign of his or her app to take advantage of Fast App Switching API. I believe that all s/he should have to do is recompile it using the latest version of X-Code. I expect to see pretty much every app take advantage of it.

Fran-tastic said:
What probably will clarify the whole thing is:

What happens when you use an app without the "freeze" API on iOS4 when you switch between apps?
Click to expand...

Apps not updated for 4.0 will behave exactly as they would in 3.1.3. If closed, they will re-open at their home screen, including any splash-screen animations, etc. Right now this is the case for all third-party apps. Apple Apps like Safari and Settings already have Fast App Switching.
 
Right, so the "dock" is a recently used list, and if the app supports it, you can jump right back in to the place you were at rather than starting the app "from scratch" again.
 
Yes all apps will have to be updated to work correctly with multitasking. If you have noticed over that last week or so not to many apps are being updated as the are all waiting for 4.0 to drop. The week of the 21st you will see a flood of app updates.
 
As others have said.

When running doodlejump (non iOS4 optimised) and switching to mail, doodlejump is listed as running in the tray at the bottom, but is not frozen.

Switching back to doodlejump causes it to act as it if had just been launched again (showing a loading screen)
 
gazzrenn said:
When running doodlejump (non iOS4 optimised) and switching to mail, doodlejump is listed as running in the tray at the bottom, but is not frozen.

Switching back to doodlejump causes it to act as it if had just been launched again (showing a loading screen)
Click to expand...

It is not "listed as running." The multitasking toolbar is not a task manager showing running apps, it's a recent programs list like the one in the Windows Start menu. It shows you the most recently used apps, period.
 
thelatinist said:
It is not "listed as running." The multitasking toolbar is not a task manager showing running apps, it's a recent programs list like the one in the Windows Start menu. It shows you the most recently used apps, period.
Click to expand...

In that case, I stand corrected. So this list of recent apps just gets longer and longer until? ..until I long press on the icon and remove it by touching the red close icon....which also removes its frozen state? (closes the app)
 
gazzrenn said:
In that case, I stand corrected. So this list of recent apps just gets longer and longer until? ..until I long press on the icon and remove it by touching the red close icon....which also removes its frozen state? (closes the app)
Click to expand...

This is accurate. But there is no reason to bother manually removing apps. It does no harm to just leave them there.
 
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