Apple has set the standard that once every year they will release a new version of the iPhone. It stands to reason that this year will be no different, with a new model likely coming sometime this summer. But arguably just as important as Apple’s hardware refresh is the accompanying software refresh that comes with it as well. And that’s why it shouldn’t be surprising at all that whispers of iPhone OS 4.0 are starting to grow. But this year, the timeline appears a bit off.
As AppleInsider reported today, iPhone OS 4.0 is likely to deliver multitasking support. If true, that will make it perhaps the most important OS upgrade for the platform yet. However, in reporting the news, AppleInsider also notes that the software, “remains under development and reportedly has a quite ‘way to go’ before it’s ready for prime time.” Looking back at the iPhone OS SDK history you’ll notice a constant: Apple has released the beta builds in March the past two years. We’re already well into March this year, and so far, no word about Apple being close to doing the same. → Read More
It’s been over three months since Apple last updated the iPhone OS to version 3.1.2. And while that’s not an unheard of amount of time between updates, it is quite a bit of time to go without any word that a new update is coming soon. Why? It could be because Apple doesn’t want to tip its hand about any information about the upcoming tablet, a new report today suggests.
“There hasn’t been an updated iPhone OS build because there’s too much tablet-related code/references in the OS and Apple obviously didn’t want that to leak. Oops,” is what Boy Genius Report says it is hearing from an Apple source it trusts. That news comes with a few other bits, including that the tablet’s multi-touch gestures are “out of control,” that it’s powered by an ARM processor, that it (obviously with the above information) runs on the iPhone kernel, and that it’s basically an “iPhone on steroids.” → Read More
Now this is the hack of the weekend or the hoax of the weekend. Some intrepid hackers have run what appears to be iPhone OS 2.x on a “multi-touch” monitor with accelerometer support. I’ve found a few examples of monitors that could potentially pull this off but I haven’t been able to pin down a model number. However, because iPhone OS is basically a Linux Mach kernel it should be bootable on Intel hardware – at least in an emulator – all of this is feasible. → Read More
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