Apple didn't talk about it at its recently held Worldwide Developers Conference, but iOS 8 will apparently let users split the screen to allow two apps to work together side by side.
The multitasking feature was first reported by 9to5Mac in May, but developer Steven Troughton-Smith says he discovered a piece of code in iOS 8 that lets two apps appear onscreen together, either splitting the screen in two equal halves or one of the apps taking three-quarters of real estate while the other takes up the remaining one-fourth.
"So... just in case there was any doubt left... iOS 8's SpringBoard has code to run two apps side-by-side. 1/4 size, 1/2 size, or 3/4 size," Troughton-Smith posted on Twitter.
In later tweets, Troughton-Smith says that App Switcher will allow various pane sizes, which are -341pt, 512pt and -682 pt. 1,024pt will be used for full-screen app displays, he says.
Brian Chen of the New York Times also confirmed ahead of the WWDC that split-screen capabilities for Apple devices was "still a work in progress" and will not make it in time for Apple's yearly developer conference. The feature may come out in time for iOS 8's release this fall or it may be included in a later iOS 8.1 update as Apple continues to refine its mobile platform.
If what Troughton-Smith claims is true, then Apple is no doubt playing catch up to other tablet manufacturers who have split-screen multi-tasking features, particularly Microsoft, whose newly released Surface Pro 3 running on touchscreen-compatible Windows 8 is poised to become a popular choice with enterprise clients. The feature allows users to see several apps at once and "snap" them into place when they need to use it, which is useful for mobile workers who need to have several apps open at once.
App Switcher, if that is what Apple will call it, will address criticisms that the iPad is simply a bigger iPhone and not a "real" mobile computing device. 9to5Mac reports that the feature will also allow users to share content across two open applications. For example, they can drag text, images and videos from one app to the other.
The new split-screen feature may become available in the rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro, although analysts believe Apple will not abandon its current iPad Air lineup and plans to launch an iPad Air 2, possibly with support for App Switcher. It will also reportedly work in landscape mode. No word yet has been made if split-screen feature will be available in smaller-screen devices such as the iPad mini and the iPhone.
