Finaly! iOS 8 may Bring Split-Screen Multitasking to the iPad

After years of waiting, Apple may add split-screen multitasking feature to the iPad in iOS 8, reported 9to5mac. The feature would allow iPad owners to use two apps simultaneously on a single screen, the feature was a Microsoft swagger as an advantage for its Surface tablets over the iPad, so is focused on it in more than one of its Surface tablet ads.

The feature besides the allowing the use of multiple apps at the same time, may also allows users to share data such as images, texts, and links between apps, these capabilities indicate that Apple is finally ready to support “XPC” services in iOS, making it easier for developers to share content between apps.

In addition to allowing for two iPad apps to be used at the same time, the feature is designed to allow for apps to more easily interact, according to the sources. For example, a user may be able to drag content, such as text, video, or images, from one app to another. Apple is said to be developing capabilities for developers to be able to design their apps to interact with each other.

The report also notes that the feature will work exclusively in landscape mode, and will target the 9.7-inch iPad display, unclear at this time if its extension will include the smaller iPad mini. It may also be a critical feature for the rumored iPad Pro, that may release either later this year or in 2015.

A split-screen iPad multitasking feature as mentioned has been requested by iPad users for quite a long time, some designers have even created a concept of how Apple could implement this feature.

In addition to the split-screen multitasking option, iOS 8 is expected to come with new features and improvements such as a Healthbook app, that is said to be a central location for all your health and fitness data, some major improvements to the Maps app like the offering transit directions, all-new Preview and TextEdit apps to make it easier to access documents in iCloud, standalone app for iTunes Radio, and user-interface refinements such as the simplification of Notification Center. Apple is expected to unveil iOS 8, at the WWDC 2014 Keynote on June 2nd.


Source: 9to5mac via MacRumors

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