How to follow the iPhone OS4 event and what to expect from it

Less than a week after Apple launched its much awaited iPad, Apple, a company that obviously doesn’t like to rest on its laurels, sent out invitations to their “sneak peak into the future of iPhone OS” April 8th event. My first reaction was “OMG”, but now I just pitty the Apple haters. I mean come on, the blogosphere could use a few months of Apple-free news, right? Not going to happen.
This event will introduce the new operating system that runs on the iPhone, the iPod touch and the iPad (and your brain, sooner or later). Steve Jobs will likely speak, as well as Scott Forstall, VP of iPhone Software. Phil Schiller will probably make an appearance as well as a few developers to show off what OS 4.0 can do.

So what’s the big deal with iPhone OS4?

Well first of all, as soon as regular mortals will have access to it, OS4 will be scanned, X-rayed, serached, dug, examined, analysed, inspected and probed for any clues regarding the next iPad/iPhone version.

The second thing is that iPhone OS3 is starting to seem a little outdated, with Android gaining market share and new features everyday. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone is still the best phone in the world, but its full potential is yet to be reached. Some features are hardware limited: a better camera and a high-res screen are expected for the new iPhone itself, which is likely to be introduced in June (yes, another Apple keynote). Others, like multitasking and an FM radio can be added thanks to software updates, and that’s what the iPhone OS is all about.
Here are my predictions/wishful thinking, but because the OS is remarkably un-leaked, don’t get your hopes up too high, we don’t know anything about it and Apple may underwhelm us again.

Multitasking: Is the number one requested addition to the OS. Palm’s Web OS can do it, Android can do it, there’s no reason why Apple should not do it. Oh wait, they waited years to include copy/paste: let’s not forget that Cupertino doesn’t follow the rules of logic. Multitasking could be anything from process freezing to true exposé-like UI interaction. I’d say there’s an 90% chance of being able to drain your battery life faster and make your iPhone lag in the next OS. Might be iPhone 3GS/iPad only.

Organization: Is a personal favorite of mine, because I have over 400 apps. Actually, I’d be glad if we could have more than 11 app screens, but some way to implement folders or shortcuts to specific pages might be cool. I’d say there’s a 10% chance of being able to to organize your countless fart apps. Remember, it’s not a bug, it’s a feature.

A new UI: Don’t expect too much here. The iPhone UI is the best in the mobile world, and Apple knows it. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few iPad specific things appear. 30% probability of being able to have custom desktop on your apps screen, just like the iPad.

Better notifications: This is one of the weakest points in the current iPhone OS, so expect Apple to do something about it. Notifications should be able to display more than one message, to be displayed once they’ve been dismissed and to not interfere with what you’re doing. 60% probability.

FM radio: We know it’s possible, so please Apple, move your butt and do it. We’ll still buy iTunes music. Actually, you could even add a “buy song now” button on the radio screen. 20% probability.

iTunes streaming: Remote media streaming on the iPhone is great, but it’s functionality you have to introduce with paid apps. A lot of people already have the media piled into iTunes, so native streaming-preferably over 3g-would be great. 50% probability.

iTunes wireless syncing: If your computer and iPhone are connected on the same wireless network, they should be able to sync wirelessly. Cables are so 2005. 30% probability.

Social media / cloud implementation: Just for once, Apple should copy Microsoft. Just this time. 30% probability.

There you have it folks. The only thing left to do is to wait and see.

Here is how you can follow the event: As previously mentioned, iPhone OS4 will be unveiled on April 8th, at 10:00 Pacific time, 07:00 Hawaii, 11:00 Mountain, 12:00 Central, 13:00 Eastern. That’s 18:00 for GMT (London), 19:00 for GMT+1 (Paris/Vienna/Rome) and 21:00 for Moscow, in case you’re in Europe.

Apple doesn’t broadcast the video live (we’ll post a download link as soon as possible), but the big blogs which are invited to the event will host liveblogs, updated by the minute with text and even pictures. Here are the links:

And of course, we’ll post a review. Meanwhile, why don’t you tell us what feature you’d like to see the most?

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