iPhone SDK's seedy underbelly reveals painful limitations

by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 11th 2008 at 12:53AM

Following the initial euphoria of realizing that a genuine, honest-to-goodness official iPhone SDK was finally upon us, the cold, hard reality of Apple's draconian rule wasted no time setting in. TechCrunch has a solid overview of some of the downsides of being an Apple developer -- an Apple iPhone developer, specifically -- and the list definitely takes just a little fun out of the June countdown. Front and center on the list has to be the fact that third-party applications can never run in the background, meaning that you can pretty much kiss your dreams of downloading (or creating) an always-on IM client goodbye. Quoth Cupertino, "users should not feel that leaving your iPhone application and returning to it later is any more difficult than switching among applications on a computer." Ah, but you can have a whole slew of apps running at once on those shiny Macs of yours, remember, Apple? Granted, they're suggesting here that apps should be smart enough to save and restore state as they're killed and restarted, but we figure it takes more than that to simulate true task switching.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Filed under: Software, Apple, iPhone OS

Tags: apple, iphone, sdk

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highest Ranked

swatx @ Mar 11th 2008 1:25AM

I was wondering when engadget would post about the limitations about iphone sdk. Maybe this should silence people who believe apple is all giving to its fanbase.

Highest Ranked

PynkFloydd @ Mar 11th 2008 2:17AM

Umm... What's that called? ...Stockholm Syndrome? ...you know, when a hostage becomes loyal and emotionally attached with their victimizers.

Highly Ranked

Big John @ Mar 11th 2008 2:35AM

Or hey, it was going to take some time for people to actually GET the SDK and dive into it deeper?

I know, it takes away a chance to go "lol engadget loves apple" but calm down.

Neutral

andi @ Mar 11th 2008 5:16AM

maybe the iphone just doesn't have enough RAM to run more apps, eh?..

Neutral

Rich @ Mar 11th 2008 9:11AM

Agreed. This post smells of Engadget trying to bury bad news.

Highly Ranked

Harley3k @ Mar 11th 2008 1:25AM

Someone commented on another blog that you could overcome the limitation of running in the background by "overriding the applicationSuspend."

Neutral

Big John @ Mar 11th 2008 2:36AM

Like Chris mentions below, is this really something we can expect Apple to let slip through?

Highest Ranked

Surur @ Mar 11th 2008 3:34AM

The develop agreement says:
Applications must comply with the Human Interface Guidelines and other Documentation provided by Apple.
...........................

Circumvent the multitasking ban and then Apple does not release your app. Its not a free for all out there. You follow Apple's rules or you dont get to play.

Low Ranked

James Rainey @ Mar 11th 2008 2:06AM

1. Understand the logic behind this limitation
2. Write responsible code around the limitation(see Harley3k comment)

No one wants an app to run in the background, slow down your device and use battery power. If they did then EVERYONE would have a Windows based smartphone.

I believe Apple's intention here is to keep the device fast, power friendly and user friendly. No one wants to launch a task manager just to speed up their phone (again, hi Microsoft).

I believe this is a null issue and engadget is scraping to find topics to write about.

Highest Ranked

Chris Ziegler @ Mar 11th 2008 2:09AM

You're forgetting that Apple guards all the doors and holds all the keys. Circumventing Apple's UI guidelines could very well keep you out of the App Store for all we know, which seems to be a virtual death sentence for an application written using the official SDK. Not a sure thing, obviously, but a risk.

Chris

Highly Ranked

Big John @ Mar 11th 2008 2:34AM

You're right, I really have no desire for an AIM program on my iPhone.

Like I have on my BlackBerry right now, supposedly killing my battery life.

Highest Ranked

swatx @ Mar 11th 2008 2:53AM

In any Windows Mobile 6.0, there is a little thing called taskmanager where you can see what applications are running in the background.

For example, i can listen to internet radio(3rd party app) while i browse the internet using opera. This can also be called "multitasking"

Highly Ranked

Rik @ Mar 11th 2008 5:09AM

I have like 5 custom apps running in te background of my N95, works like a charm.

Lowest Ranked

nmason @ Mar 11th 2008 8:23AM

Guys, you buy a computer to multitask, not a smartphone.

Apple has the best HF in the business. Just because MS Mobile breaks all the established, research supported facts of usability and human interface, it doesn't mean the rules have changed.

Application persistance is a BIG BIG no no.

Neutral

trooth @ Mar 11th 2008 12:43PM

Apple is so arrogant in telling the customer base that they don't want multitasking. And you fanboys are eating it up. "you buy a computer to mulitask" ORly? You buy a computer to get on the internet too, by that logic your Iphone should only be able to make/rec calls, send/rec msgs and that is it.

Here is the real kicker though, I can sit on my under powered Q9 all day running IM and various other apps and I dont run out of space, I know how to use taskmanager and my phone never locks up. Apple IPhone cant do it. They can only get their battery life on the device by limiting what you can and cant do it. Fair enough but dont tell the consumer what they want, dont tell the developer how to develope, this is the kind of mindset that kept them with a sub 10% market share for 25 years in the computer world. Its a good thing that the IPod was killer, Steve Jobs was on his way out the door. The Iphone's sales is going to peak out this year or next year and then it will be another also ran device, it is just too subpar due to apple wanting to limit how it can be used.

Highest Ranked

Big John @ Mar 11th 2008 2:33AM

Heard this on TWiT today.

Looks like you all were right, the iPhone jailbreaking community will be living on beyond SIM unlocking.

Highly Ranked

zephead @ Mar 11th 2008 2:37AM

Even as an Apple fan, I really don't see the need for all these stupid arbitrary restrictions. Look at Mac OS X, apps don't need to be 'blessed' by Apple before they can run on a Mac, why should they be for the iPhone?

Neutral

Big John @ Mar 11th 2008 2:40AM

The abuse can be far greater. The iPhone isn't locked down by administrative passwords and has a comparatively smaller amount of resources to work with. I can understand Apple's desire to restrict apps being sold / given away just fine.

The "no background" rule is definitely a "we don't want to be a Windows Smartphone disaster" rule. I do hope Apple can find a happy medium. Such as, a maximum amount of resources that can be used per application in the background? Then still you run into the guy that just has to run 20 applications at once on his iPhone and complains about it constantly.

Neutral

Harley3k @ Mar 11th 2008 3:02AM

Imagine the malware that could be running that enables listening in without you knowing or tracking you?

You can't remove the battery after all.

The NSA designed the device for Apple ;)

Highest Ranked

derX @ Mar 11th 2008 2:54AM

"Quoth Cupertino, 'users should not feel that leaving your iPhone application and returning to it later is any more difficult than switching among applications on a computer.'"

They can grasp the concept of multitouch, but not that of multitask.

Neutral

Al @ Mar 11th 2008 3:09AM

You could buy an N95-3 and multi task 3rd party apps to your hearts content.
Buy.com has an insane deal: N95-3 + Slingbox solo for $550.

Its like the Bizarro iPhone!

Highest Ranked

Surur @ Mar 11th 2008 3:41AM

So this story gets buried in Engadget Mobile when all the other news was on Engadget too?

Way to go Engadget. Would not want to anger big brother Jobs now, would we?

Neutral

CB17 @ Mar 11th 2008 4:13AM

I agree with James above, and I'd like to add that it's important to understand that just because other smartphone OS' do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. There's a reason Windows Mobile hasn't taken into the mainstream like the iPhone has, it's insanely overly complicated for the average user and that's definitely one of the issues Apple is trying to address with the iPhone.

And btw, if you mention having a task manager for managing applications, you're delusional. Task managers on phones really don't help once the phone's already locked up or crashed. And once again adds to the complicated nature of smartphones.

Realistically, there's only a few applications that would really be able to take advantage of true multitasking and I'm sure Apple will make exceptions on a case by case basis (like AIM).

Anyways, the SDK is has been out for less than a week and is only in beta, give it a break.

Highly Ranked

Nick @ Mar 11th 2008 9:23PM

no there will be no exceptions. What exactly qualifies you to make this guess? Apple would lose its precious battery life, moronic simplicity of use, and freed ram/processing power for those who don't want to manage their own application activity on their own smartphone.

Highest Ranked

Atanas Boev @ Mar 11th 2008 6:38AM

"...apps should be smart enough to save and restore state..."

Sounds like PalmOS 1.0, circa 1996. Quote from from Wikipedia:

"While this kernel [the one used in PalmOS 1.0] is technically capable of multitasking, the "terms and conditions of that license specifically state that Palm may not expose the API for creating/manipulating tasks within the OS." [9]."

... with the difference that old Palms had replaceable AA batteries:)

Neutral

abubasim @ Mar 11th 2008 6:39AM

"Granted, they're suggesting here that apps should be smart enough to save and restore state as they're killed and restarted, but we figure it takes more than that to simulate true task switching."

I thought the iPhone was running OS X. If it does, why would you have to "simulate" task switching. Is this how the desktop version also behaves?

Highest Ranked

Atanas Boev @ Mar 11th 2008 6:53AM

By the way, the interface to an app running on the background was solved very nice in NewtonOS, circa 1993. Maybe Apple should consult them... oh, wait.

Low Ranked

Rick @ Mar 11th 2008 8:18AM

Why do all you people complain? If you don't like how they do stuff here, don't visit the page. Nobody is forcing you to come here.

Neutral

ThePremierAssassin @ Mar 11th 2008 8:37AM

Okay I have a lot of patience but I swear by the time Apple has the iPhone at a point that satisfies the majority of people who criticize it for its lackluster offerings Verizon and the other companies will have equal if not better phones.

I really want an iPhone. Truly Apple I DO. But you're not making it easy. Right now it doesn't sound like a good investment. And on top of that I can't my employee discount applied to the monthly phone plan...that SUCKS.

Neutral

peterdfriedman @ Mar 11th 2008 10:39AM

The Im limitation seems overstated. Palm OS allows for always on IM, correct? I believe the Iphone has 128mg of onboard Ram. with the detail and depth of the apps, that is simply not enough to keep them all open. I dont see this as a major limitation at all.

Neutral

OziD @ Mar 11th 2008 4:39PM

MunduIM is always on in the background. The PalmOS IM program locks and notifcations are pushed to you, but its really slow and basically takes the I out of IM.

Highly Ranked

tmed @ Mar 11th 2008 11:28AM

Saves the save state easily, but doesn't actually Multi-Task?

Apple has invented PalmOS !

Highest Ranked

Paul @ Mar 11th 2008 11:41AM

There's nothing overstated about this. 90% of apps will be just fine without background processing capabilities just like 80% of apps could be written as web apps. However, it is a limitation that many will find unacceptable. The inability to stream media, download large files, listen for pushed messages, create pop-up reminders, monitor connections and usage, provide alternative input mechanisms, etc. in the background is a large limitation for a relatively small number of folks (a larger number of folks if the folks had a clue what they could be missing), but it is a severe limitation nonetheless. Whether Apple is intentionally trying to limit the usefulness of third-party apps so they can charge for their own more useful apps (can't wait for the lawsuit there--talk about a non-level playing field) or whether they are simply trying to force users to maintain "responsive" phones is immaterial. Evil or no, Apple continues to make the phone fall short of expectations for a true, modern smartphone and that will continue to prop up the competition. Rather than allow users to decide how burdened, unresponsive, battery draining, and (oh yeah) useful they want to make their phone, Apple continues to play the part of benevolent dictator. Luckily for Apple, 90% of the users out there (and almost every Apple-loving lemming) won't notice the difference or give a damn if they do notice the difference. For them, its a step up from their RAZR and that is enough.

I really LOVE the 90% of what the iPhone is, but that extra 10% (which would be easy for Apple to provide simply by loosening restrictions) is enough for me and likely a large proportion of power users to look elsewhere.

Highly Ranked

slamEVIL @ Mar 11th 2008 1:43PM

damn dude you hit the nail right on the head (except for the last paragraph)!

by the way apple, i can run opera 9, opera mini, pie, AND my im client at the same time on my tilt with no locking or slowing. just saying...

Lowest Ranked

CB17 @ Mar 11th 2008 10:21PM

You people still don't get it. If Apple was trying to cater to that 10%, then they wouldn't be any different than Windows Mobile. You've heard of the story about the Tortoise and the Hare right? Except in this case, the tortoise is getting faster gradually instead of just doing it all like WinMo does.

I'm sorry to say this to the rest of the nerds out there, but we don't constitute the majority. And the MAJORITY, doesn't care about most of the stuff that people on here complain about. Sorry, that's just the way it is. And I'm sure Apple would rather have a stable phone that works well for the 90% vs. feature bloat for the other 10% that care.

It's this reason that makes the iPhone as popular as it has been due to its simplicity and overall ease of use.

Highly Ranked

Paul @ Mar 11th 2008 11:50PM

CB, the thing is that you are IN the 90% ignorant of what you are missing. I'm guessing the iPhone is either your first real smart(ish) phone or that you had a bad experience with one in the past and thus assume that it isn't possible for a phone to be flexible AND reliable at the same time. You likely WOULD care if apps existed that took advantage of background processing, you got used to relying on them, and then were taken away from you. It's not that the 10% of us who think this is important are nerds (most probably aren't), it's that we know it can be done well. GUI/User Interaction issues aside (obviously the iPhone's strongest suit), Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm OS (believe it or not), and of course the various flavors of Linux Mobile all provide developers with the ability to push threads into the background to perform a variety of tasks and with a few exceptions the DO NOT cause bloat, slowdowns, instability, or battery drains (beyond what one might expect--obviously a background process pinging the network periodically will necessarily use SOME battery power just as the iPhone's built in email will). More importantly, we realize the value of this flexibility.

Let me throw one more scenario at you since you seem to be blind to the potential of background processing. Wouldn't you think it would be nice to have a GPS navigation application (assuming Apple sees fit to allow GPS receivers to connect via its sad excuse for a bluetooth stack) continue to track the progress of the route you are driving and provide voice navigation alerts while still allowing the iPhone to say, play music, take calls, etc.??

Neutral

CB17 @ Mar 12th 2008 12:43AM

@Paul

I'm NOT saying that having processes running in the background ISN'T useful. I mean clearly Apple's aware of this as Steve Jobs himself stood on stage and showed off playing music while browsing the web. But what I'm saying is... is that I haven't heard anybody give one good example of a program that really needs multitasking other than IM.

As for your GPS example, the SDK DOES provide access to the "corelocation" service that powers the "locate me" in Google Maps. Not the same, yes I know, but it doesn't really matter as there's no way to get GPS on to the iPhone...yet (and yes I do share your frustration on the horrible bluetooth stack).

But let's get honest here, you and I both know that Windows Mobile and to a lesser extent Palm are both known for their instabilities and for how slow they can get. Apple clearly doesn't want to become "just another smartphone OS" and wants to make sure that they can make the phone both secure and stable while being able to add functionality.

Here's my point, and really my only point. Yes it'd be nice to have 100% open access especially in regards to multi-tasking. But at the end of the day, let's be realistic. How many applications are REALLY gonna be able to take advantage of it? And are those applications REALLY gonna be apps that are gonna target the mainstream audience (other than IM)? I'm gonna say no, and like I said before. I'm sure Apple will allow exceptions on request...maybe...we'll see.

Bottom line: The SDK is STILL a beta and the iPhone is STILL less than a year old. I'm glad Apple isn't adding stuff just because they wanna put another notch on the old Feature List belt.

Oh and btw, as for my PDA OS history, I've had several Palm PDAs, the Samsung Blackjack, the Cing 8525, and a good bit of use with the E62. Don't make assumptions.

Highly Ranked

AlphaTeam @ Mar 11th 2008 11:55AM

So I can develop Symbian for free, distribute it cheaply, and allow my program to multitask in the background?

Thanks Apple, for nothing.

Highly Ranked

OziD @ Mar 11th 2008 4:37PM

What do you mean by "in the mainstream"? WinMo phones are way more common in both the personal and the business worlds. The iPhone is gaining ground on the personal level, no doubt, but they have barely been looked at at all in the business world. It will take some time after 2.0 comes out, too.

Employees at my work are pushing to get iphones instead of treo's, but until 2.0 comes out, that WILL NOT happen. I expect its the same way in most companies. They lose tons of functionality just to have a prettier phone.

And when 2.0 comes out, my boss is going to be the only one with an iPhone for a couple months at the very least. He has to determine if its worthwhile, which it probably won't be because it won't do anything better that a treo, except help our employees waste more time when they should be working. if anything we'll probably move to blackberry's by the end of the year.

Highest Ranked

yoyodude64 @ Mar 11th 2008 4:43PM

so i cant switch between aim and txting? and certainly not with music playing? thats depressing

Neutral

poharp14 @ Mar 11th 2008 5:49PM

No need to worry, your aim application will save your progress and keep you signed on to the network until you physically sign off. All your messages that you missed will be retrieved once that application is opened again. Its all about power consumption, your standby time will dramatically decrease if internet based applications remain open which therefore causes a bigger problem "battery life" then the people who will complain about restricted sdk use. Look for 2nd generation iphone shortly after june release.. it will be out about 2 weeks after everyone runs to the apple store to get equipment replacement on the 28th of june, one day before apple released it last year. I mean its apple thats 75 bucks times 100,000 iphones bc im sure not even half of us extended our one yr warranty any longer the day we all stood in line to marvel or tech.. i mean thats a small chunk for apple 7.5 mil but hey its better then nothing

Highly Ranked

OziD @ Mar 11th 2008 6:43PM

So wait. You know that EVERY phone on the market can do AIM exactly how you described, right. That is, except for the ones that actually do it correctly (Sidekick, WinMo, MunduIM for PalmOS).

What the hell do you mean by equipment replacement? Apple is not going to replace anything on anyones iphone. They'll just sell new ones if they change something. Just like they do with their computers. You spent your money on what you bought, the only reason they don't charge us for updates is because every phone would be jailbroken and used on different services. And since you don't have to do that with an ipod touch, you have to pay for updates.

Furthermore, I doubt we will see a second generation iphone anytime soon. Certainly not on the scale that calls for a rename (iphone 2? no). Especially when all that will be added is an HSDPA radio, at the very most.

I didn't understand half of your babble anyways because you suck at punctuation and grammar. I doubt Jobs would let anybody with that little writing skill anywhere near a second gen iphone at this point. You should be banned from buying the first one, too.

Neutral

poharp14 @ Mar 11th 2008 11:11PM

First of all OziD im not an engadget guru, nor do i spell check my blog im not writing an english paper.. I just post my 2 cents on blogs that spark my interest. Excuse me for saying equipment replacement, what i meant to say was extend your warranty for another year, bc after june 29th which was the release of the iphone as everyone knows your 1yr warranty will be void if you purchased your phone on that day "obviously". Not a rocket scientist but I'm sure alot of people will be extending their warranty for an additional year due to the fact that they would rather pay 75 bucks rather then 3 or $400. Second never did I state that my word was bond I have no affiliation with steve jobs, it was a mere speculation and just basic hear say evidence from a rather reliable inside source. You take life to serious. Dont get your panties in a bunch it will be okay. Anyhow look for apple branded phones on different networks and 2nd generation iphone late 3rd quarter. Sorry had to do it just to be a bigger loser then you.

Highly Ranked

JC @ Mar 12th 2008 1:58PM

Totally reminds me of making fun of Macs for lack of true multitasking back in high school.... ah, the memories ;)

Neutral

Rob Schoenfeld @ Mar 12th 2008 4:12PM

Here is wait my HTC Touch (Sprint) runs Three Browsers, Skype IM and VOIP, Three Push Email accounts including active sync exchange push, constant text messages. Now I'm not saying that MSFT is perfect but I�ll talk waiting the extra couple of seconds of lag versus not having the choice of running those apps any day.

Apple's only has two things really going for them.

1. Their Marketing Team - Then can some how turn ignorant reach snobs into mindless ISheep drones willing to fork over ridiculous amount of cash for anything with a bitten apple on it.
2. Their GUI � It blows anything else on the market out of the water. The Iphone/ Itouch GUI has set the standard in mobile phones. They bring pretty to the masses but at a cost: Restrictive ecosystem, restrictive SDK, vendor restrictions, not to mention the cost.

I think this business practice is why they have a piece of half eaten fruit is there logo. If apple really wanted to rule get into the phone business they would allow other hardware vendors to license the Iphone os. They could still have very strict hardware guidelines to ensure top quality phones and at the same time provide people with choice. The phone needs to sell with more then one cell phone vendor. Why I can go to any major retail/online store and buy an Ipod. Why should the Iphone be any different?