There has been rumors for some time that Apple is looking into allowing third-party background processes. This TechCrunch article is once again igniting these rumors.
The article goes on to say Apple is working on a way to allow background processes, and may announce something at WWDC, but not be ready at that time. There is also the possibility Apple may not mention it at all, because it is believed to be early in development.
There are several reasons Apple hasn’t allowed background processes from the start. The most important is security. Allowing background processes to run could be a security threat. Secondly, battery life would shorten considerably. Lastly, the whole user experience would slow down.
So the way Apple plans to get around this is by limiting the number of third-party background processes. This leads into the possiblilty of new hardware that would be better suited for handling multiple processes.
Why is Apple worried about this now? The Palm Pre that’s why.
The Pre is said to be able to run more than one application at a time, and is the only phone that comes near the iPhone in sophistication. Apple is preparing for competition.
Recent Comments