Allied to the series of reports we’ve already assessed in the growing stockpile of iOS 8-related rumors, we heard a short while ago that Apple may be planning to introduce split-screen multitasking with the iPad at some point this year with the release of iOS 8. The concept you see below, designed by concept maker Sam Beckett, is quite similar to what Apple is alleged to be planning, and offers a fairly decent, animated representation of the iPad’s dual-window interface.
Samsung and Microsoft already cater to this kind of experience in the tablet game, and although the iPad has remained one of the biggest-selling slabs in the market, it’s clear that consumers are now over the novelty of just being grateful to own a tablet, and are instead looking for a device that can completely replace a desktop computer or notebook.
For this to be the case, proper multitasking will have to be introduced at one stage or another, and apparently, it could already be on the way. It may well be that only the larger, 9.7-inch iPad Air enjoys this particular feature given its substantial real estate, leaving the iPad mini to cater to the casual user. But given the kind of consumer likely to go for an Air compared to someone inclined to opt for a mini, one suspects that if Apple were to overlook the smaller edition with said implementation, there’d be very few complaints.
Even though Beckett’s concept precedes today’s revelations, it’s fairly on the money in that it offers a single, vertical split when the device is held in landscape, and and given that it’s also adjustable to give one app’s interface a stronger presence than another’s, it’s as customizable as you might expect of such a feature.
Apple may eventually introduce multitasking where four or even more apps run alongside one another, although for this to be the case, the current hardware would need to be improved. Even the iPad Air’s display would struggle to comfortably squeeze more than two apps in at a time, but if the as-rumored "iPad Pro," with its ~12-inch screen, ever manifests, then we could see Apple take another step to what will almost certainly see the iPad one day occupy the space where the MacBook currently resides.
Check out the concept below, and let us know what you think via the usual channels.
You might also like to check out:
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.
