Apple Fails on multitasking on the iPhone 4 OS

If the Sirius XM app isn't compatible with multitasking it is because of the developers' lack of a software update to allow that compatibility, not any fault of Apple's. Other apps like Pandora work just fine via multitasking.

Dude, get your facts straight. If the app in question hasn't been updated to support multitasking, then naturally it's not going to run in the background.

Copied from this post.

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11669121#11669121

+iOS4 provides for 3 types of "multitasking" of 3rd party apps:+

+1. App suspension where the app is stored in it's last open state for rapid task switching and retuning to where you left off.+
+2. Task completion - the app continues to process the task after closing, then suspends.+
+3. True background activity - i.e ongoing music streaming, VoP, navigation, etc.+

+*Current 3.x apps do none of the above in iOS 4. They simply close as usual, without retaining the open state, and don't task complete or run in background, even though the icons show on the task bar. _To multitask in iOS 4, they have to be recompiled with the proper APIs._*+

Although this make good sense, still to his point new App's are being put out with out the proper API's then. The OS at some point should have been configured to help this out. It should not be all app based. Your going to tell me something is multitasking then go for the gold and not settle for a silver.



I am a first time iPhone owner and I do like the phone but just one thing after another thats letting me down. The phone is just to sexy looking to let it go so I hope the big fix comes soon. I am holding my breath for it so don't let me down Apple 😉

Yes u are right, XM will not multi task because XM will not update the app. I have e mailed them about it.

Prior to iOS4, 3rd party apps could not run in the background even though multi-tasking with included apps has been supported since day one.

iOS4 allows for "multi-tasking" with 3rd party apps based on the 3 types of "multi-tasking" that iOS4 provides, but 3rd party app developers must recompile their app or apps with the proper APIs for one of the 3 types. For example, a game or most games will not be recompiled for type 3, but will be for type 1 with the app stored in its last open state so when returning to the app it will begin where you left off without having to launch the app and starting over.

There will be no big fix in this regard. Apple has provided the big fix with iOS4. It is up to the app developers to recompile their app with the proper APIs depending on which type of "multi-tasking" is required or needed for the app.

multitask means that you can run a applications and run another application and go back to the first application where you left off, apple should not advertise that it is multitaking when it really is not.

Read my previous post. iOS4 allows for this with 3rd party apps, but the app developer for an app must recompile their app with the proper APIs. Recompiling does not require re-writting the app from scratch. Apple provides for this with iOS4, but it is up to the app developers to recompile their apps.

Just because an app is available in the multi-task bar does not mean the app is running in the background. This is also a recently used app list to quickly select an app that may not be launched. If a 3rd party app has been recompiled with the proper APIs to make use app suspension with the app stored in its last open state for rapid task switching and retuning to where you left off when reselecting the app in the task bar when double-clicking the home button, when reselecting the app the app will be where you left off when it was suspended. The iOS4 gold master was released just before the final iOS4 version. Some developers are faster than others in recompiling their app or apps with the proper APIs. Until that time, a 3rd party app will be quit when leaving the app.

dont upgrade to the new iphone 4 os, it is rubbish!! i have installed and have had alot of trouble. Phone is slow to respond, losing contacts mysteriously, it erases all the contacts then i have to restore from computer. Skype goes slow, contacts appear then disappear, cant search for them in phone is just blank.
stay with ver 3. i have a 32gb 3gs so should work, as they say.
4 is the plague and i cant fix it........ stay away, others i know have similar issues.

Untill Sirius-XM gets around to updating the app which could be a year from now as slow as they are at such things, you can use Pocket Tunes available in the app store. It has been updated to be able to multitask and yes, it will play in the background as you do other things on the phone. You simply scroll to the bottom of available stations and select XM. Login and you get all the same channels that the Sirius-XM app gives you.

Problem solved.

Yeah whatever man. If you cannot get it through your thick head then you have a problem not Apple.

Apple has chosen to enable multitasking for definite set of APIs, rather than willy nilly implement it whether required or not. Following APIs support multitasking:

Background audio
Voice over IP
Background location
Push notifications
Local notifications
Task finishing
Fast app switching

Android is a tech demo mobile os, but does not work in the real world. It's for those 2 nerds who haven't seen daylight in many years and have yet to move out of their parents basement.

TechOps10 wrote:
on the iphone you cant.

You're wrong.

On iPhone4, I can run MotionX GPS to track my jogging session while listening to iHeartRadio at the same time - something I could never do before on my 3GS. When I switch back to MotionX, it correctly displays the elapsed time, total distance travelled, etc. It's running in the background the whole time.

As some here have indicated, however, the developers need to get up to speed. Until they do, and with a bit of sequencing, it's still possible to run different apps simultaneously. In the above example, I simply launch/set MotionX first, double-click Home, then launch iHeart.

I like the multitasking feature but cleaning up the apps that are in the quick launch bar is a pain. I had to do this with my old symbian 6680.

What I would like to see is a Close option in each app and let me decide, when I leave the app, what is to stay in quick launch bar. I use some apps just to kill time and may not refer to them again all day or even a couple of days and it seems pointless to have these hanging around in the quick launch bar.

For me, leave quick launch for those apps one uses often and needs to get to quickly.