Just now, at Apple’s iPhone OS 4 event, Steve Jobs took the stage in his ill-fitting jeans to talk about the updates to the iPhone/iPad operating system. A dev preview launches today and the new OS ships this summer. A framework called “accelerate” gives access to accelerated math functions. Nerdy, I know, but this means more power for Apps.
As a gamer, you may not care about new additions like Bluetooth keyboard support or gifting Apps, but maybe you’ll care about multitasking, which was just shown off. You’ll now get to stop your gaming momentarily to check your email or surf eBay or look at small porn or whatever. There’s a new dock that comes up from the bottom to show you what’s running on your iPhone, letting you see what’s currently running.
Also announced was support for Voice over IP and background audio, both of which could have gaming uses. And with the new folder support, you can stick all your game Apps in one folder. Neat.
After the jump is a convenient list of non-gaming related OS 4.0 additions for those interested.
Apple’s iPhone OS 4 event [engadget]
- iBooks on iPhone
- New email with threading, multiple exchange accounts, attachment opening
- Enterprise support
- Folder support, drag and drop, 2,160 apps on one phone
- Multitasking
- Voice over IP
- push notifications, local push
- fast app switching
- Game Center: matching making, leaderboards, friend invites
- iAd: Mobile advertising
