Last month, the well-connected blogger Mark Gurman reported that Apple was likely to introduce asplit-screen multitasking feature for iPadon iOS 8. The company did not mention the feature at its WWDC keynote, however, leaving many to wonder if the functionality is still coming. According to a pair of tweets from iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith, it definitely appears possible…
Troughton-Smith has uncovered code in the iOS 8 SpringBoard, otherwise known as the Home screen, for running two apps side-by-side. He does not specifically mention the iPad, but that is the device this feature would make the most sense on. The developer adds that apps can run in 1/2 size, 1/4 size or 3/4 size. The apps are grouped into one screen on the multitasking menu.
https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/statuses/476074737081536512
https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/statuses/476075214275895296
A few weeks after Gurman reported on split-screen multitasking, Brian Chen ofThe New York Timesreported that the featureremains a work in progress, noting that it would not be ready in time for WWDC. That proved to be true, as Apple made no reference to side-by-side app usage on the iPad during its keynote. Whether the feature makes an appearance in a future iOS 8 beta or iOS 8.1 remains to be seen.
Graphic designerSam Beckettprovided us with a first look at what split-screen multitasking could look like in this beautiful concept video. Beckett’s approach involves pairing apps together through the multitasking menu, with a draggable divider for adjusting the split-screen view. The functionality is very smooth, and is definitely something I could envision Apple implementing.
Of course, split-screen multitasking is something that jailbroken iPad users already have the luxury of using thanks to ajailbreak tweakcalledOS Experience. Our own Jeff Benjamin provided a hands-on look at the extension a few months ago, referring to it as Mission Control for iPad. He said that, despite a strong learning curve, the tweak has lots of functionality and is quite useful.
Would you use split-screen multitasking on iPad?
