Marc Gurman over at 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 8, will bring with it the ability to run two apps side-by-side on an iPad.
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 8 (and other goodies) at its developer conference, which runs June 2 to June 6.
Gurman only cites unnamed “sources with knowledge of the enhancement in development,” but he’s got a solid track record with Apple rumors. And this is a feature iPad users have been requesting for quite some time, so this seems like a somewhat safe bet by Apple-rumors standards. It’s also, as Gurman reminds us, a feature Microsoft uses to set its own Surface tablets apart from the iPad.
Assuming the rumor pans out, this feature would extend beyond simple screen-splitting.
Says Gurman:
In addition to allowing for two iPad apps to be used at the same time, the feature is designed to allow for apps to more easily interact, according to the sources. For example, a user may be able to drag content, such as text, video, or images, from one app to another. Apple is said to be developing capabilities for developers to be able to design their apps to interact with each other. This functionality may mean that Apple is finally ready to enable “XPC” support in iOS, which means that developers could design App Store apps that could share content.
The split-screening would apparently work for the full-size iPad, and in landscape mode, but it’s unknown whether it’d extend to the iPad Mini. If this feature is indeed coming, we’ll hear more straight from Apple in a few short weeks.
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