
iOS 8 Code References the Ability to Run Two Apps Side-by-Side
iOS 8 split-screen multitasking concept by Sam Becket
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith has discovered new code within iOS 8 which references the ability for split-screen multitasking, further corroborating a previous 9to5Mac report the feature would debut on iOS 8 for the iPad. Troughton-Smith says apps can run in 1/4 size, 1/2 size or 3/4 size, while side by side apps appear as one screen in the quick app switcher (when you double tap the Home button):
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
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) June 9, 2014
Side-by-side apps show as a single 'screen' in the App Switcher
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) June 9, 2014
Just prior to the WWDC 2014 keynote, New York Times reporter Brian Chen poured cold water on the rumour, saying it would not debut at the developer’s conference and was “still a work in progress.”
Last December we saw the following iOS 8 split screen multitasking concept emerge from designer Sam Becket, to envision what the feature could entail:
Apple’s iPad competitors commonly targeted this ‘missing’ feature from iOS in advertising, but that will soon change if and when this feature debuts.