Apple's iOS 4 Explored
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 22, 2010 3:27 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- iOS 4
- Gadgets
- Mobile
Grand Central Dispatch
While not listed as a marketing feature of iOS 4, Apple’s developer guide lists Grand Central Dispatch as a new feature of the OS. Those of you who are familiar with Mac OS X 10.6 will know Grand Central Dispatch as a task management/thread spawning core that aims to simplify multithreaded development while boosting thread utilization on platforms. The developer focuses on splitting up tasks in a sensible fashion rather than juggling n-number of threads and GCD deals with spawning the appropriate number of threads for the system.
This is of course a non-issue on any current iPhone, including the new 4th generation model, but it does make sense for Apple to introduce it now. While the iPhone 4 is a single core/single thread device, the 5th generation iPhone will almost certainly have two cores. The ramp to multithreading on mobile devices will be much quicker than what we saw on desktop PCs, mostly thanks to the fact that the leap on the PC is largely complete.
With Hyper Threading and other SMT technologies on the horizon for smartphone SoCs it’s not far fetched to see the majority of high end smartphones capable of executing 2 - 4 threads in the next 3 years.
Resolution Independent Development
Everyone should know by now that the iPhone 4 will have a ridiculously dense screen with over 600,000 pixels in an area the same as the past three iPhones. The 960 x 640 resolution is an even 2x increase in both directions compared to the previous iPhones, however developers shouldn’t have to do anything different to target their apps to the various iPhone revisions.
Apps draw to a virtual screen which is then mapped to the physical screen by the OS. Resolution, at least on the iPhone, doesn’t appear to be a concern of the developer. Obviously apps and games with higher levels of detail will take advantage of the iPhone 4’s available resolution but a re-write or any modifications to existing apps aren’t necessary.
Game Center
Apple made two bold announcements at its iOS 4 unveiling: iAds and the iOS Game Center. The former went after Google, the latter, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.
The iOS Game Center is essentially Xbox Live for Apple iOS devices. Users will be allowed to create their own online identities (similar to Xbox Live profiles) and can play with or against one another with matchmaking, track achievements, chat with one another and basically do anything you’d want to do in an online gaming service. Eventually all iOS games will use and support the Game Center, just like there’s some amount of Xbox Live integration with all Xbox 360 games today.
When I first saw Unreal Engine running on the iPod Touch I mentioned that within 3 - 5 years we’d have the power of an Xbox 360 in a device the size of an iPhone. By introducing the Game Center early on, Apple is creating the foundation for what it ultimately hopes the iOS platform will turn into. Apple also has an advertising platform built in should it want to sell in game ads, hmm...
The Game Center wasn’t ready for launch with iOS 4 however developers are given full access to it. I’d expect a follow up launch later this year once it’s ready.
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SunSamurai - Friday, June 25, 2010 - link
Get over it. Its either ads or no free apps.robco - Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - link
AdMob isn't blocked from the iPhone, nor does Apple have a monopoly. Since AdMob is owned by Google, a major competitor with Android, there are some analytics Apple won't allow AdMob to access. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense, why give a competitor access to information on potential customers (who are presently your customers)? Developers can still use AdMob if they wish, they just won't get as much data.So far I haven't had many issues. I think we're still waiting for developers to catch up to the new OS. But it works like a charm on my 3GS. Folders is a little clunky, but I'm happy not to have to swipe across multiple home screens to access apps. As for the iPhone 4, the only real compelling feature for me is the new camera with flash. Since I have a 3GS, I'd have to pay through the nose to "upgrade" and I won't do that until LTE is rolled out and the iPhone supports it. Oh, and it's available on a network that isn't AT&T.
Android is looking good, but Google does a horrible job with UI. I know they have UI designers working there, but it appears nobody at Google listens to them. Stock Android looks like Windows 3.1.
anandtech02148 - Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - link
iAds sounds yuck, i'll keep my 3GS and the old os3xxx. another reason why iphone 3gs is so popular because it has a pirate community, reminder to the pc system where you where you have a vibrant thriving hacking community for warez, gamez,. apzz., Google Droid can go to hell, a billion dollars in marketing from verizon won't save you.. Look at Google trying to get back into China. what will hapen to Symbian ^3? nokia N8 looks appealing from hardware standpoint..but their software really needs refresing idea like Palm OS. Intel and Nokia are great hardware companies but software they really need a saviour.haplo602 - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
wow, so Apple is finaly introducing basic features into it's sofware ... how suprising and inovative ...seriously ... I gave up in the middle of the article. there's nothing interesting in it. just the shock at people thanking Apple for providing basic features (ipod playlists FINALY editable, now that's groundbreaking).
my age old HTC Herald can do all these things already a few years. Sure the HW is old and slow, but the functionality is still there.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
That a customer (and tech reviewer) can (blindly?) trust a company that is worth over half a trillion USD to look out for him is astonishingly naive, stupid, or malicious, possibly all 3 and even more.A company that has a proven record of shady decisions (we will ban this app, oh wait, it gets media attention, let's actually allow it!), shady handling of the press (accidental leaks, rumors, investigations), shady handling of its competition (violating patents, very closed system) should have the end users best interest at heart? Are you insane?
After reading this and the Froyo article, I have deleted my AT bookmark and will refrain from coming here in the future.
Good bye
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