Now that Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS 8 has been made available to developers in a beta format it is being minutely examined by thousands of highly skilled programmers curious to explore every corner case and possibility offered by the fresh platform. One of these, Steven Troughton-Smith, claims that he has discovered “hidden” coding related to a split screen view for larger iOS 8 devices, such as larger types of iPad. If this report by Mr. Troughton-Smith is indeed accurate, it could indicate that two apps could be open, active, and in use simultaneously.
Mr. Troughton-Smith posted a video of his discovery to YouTube, showing the alleged new capability of iOS 8 in a 25 second segment that includes screen captures from a simulated iOS 8 screen. This indicates – using a grey placeholder for one of the displayed apps – that the screen can show 100% one app, a 75% / 25% split between left and right apps, a 50% / 50% split, or a 25% / 75% split between left and right.
Some commentators have raised objections to Mr. Troughton-Smith’s claimed discovery. These contrary voices point out the following:
- The example video shows only one app open, with the second app represented by a grey placeholder. Without two apps open, there is no direct proof that the screen resizing would actually allow two to function at once. The grey pane could actually just be a glitch
- The version of iOS 8 is a beta version, meaning that even if the split screen view is actually present at the moment, it could easily be removed before retail release.
- Mr. Troughton-Smith stated that he “patched together” the method of opening two apps, and had to bypass or tweak two different features, UIKit and SpringBoard, in order to do so. With so much patching, tweaking, and bypassing, it is unclear if the method was “discovered” or if it is actually, in effect, a hack causing iOS 8 to work in a way never intended by the designers.
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On the supportive side, Apple (AAPL), for all its image of “marching to the tune of its own drummer,” needs to stay competitive and is indeed often obsessed with what its competitors are doing. As released emails from Steve Jobs revealed during the recent $2.2 billion Apple v. Samsung lawsuit, Mr. Jobs himself often felt that Apple needed to catch up to rivals such as Google, which he deemed were pulling ahead of the Cupertino firm.
The Surface series of tablets, by Microsoft, already offer split screen options. The uncovered split screen feature in iOS 8 could very well be Apple’s answer to such competing brands, even if the split screen is not available at retail release.