iPhone OS 4.0 due next week, too?

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We wrapped up a week’s worth of iTablet (almost certainly not its name, but we have to call it something) rumours yesterday, but now there’s a bit more news about what Apple might be announcing next week.

The latest rumour is that next Wednesday’s event might also see the unveiling of the iPhone 4.0 operating system. The prevailing opinion seems to be that the OS update has been ready for some time, but that Apple has been delaying its release in order to avoid giving anything away about the iTablet, which will (it’s thought) share many of the same features.

The news comes from Boy Genius Report, who quotes a list of new iPhone 4.0 features from a trusted source. They are:

• System-wide multi-touch gestures — it’s not clear what this could mean, since the iPhone already supports multi-touch in the apps that need it. If tied to the iTablet OS though, this could refer to a completely new way of interacting with the touch-screen.
• Background applications — the lack of true multi-tasking is one of the iPhone’s main weaknesses, but enabling it system-wide would have a serious impact on battery life. It’s hard to imagine a table-size computer without it, so perhaps Apple has worked out a solution.
• An improved user interface — almost certainly required to add multi-tasking and maybe Apple has improved the way in which applications are accessed from a growing succession of scrolling panes.
• Improved syncing for Calendar and Contacts — the iPhone already syncs with Mac OS iCal and Address Book with a paid MobileMe subscription, so perhaps a free sync option will be added, or simplified Google syncing.
• iPhone 3G and 3GS only — the original iPhone is getting on for three years old and while still in widespread use, its relative lack of processor power and 3D graphics mean that it probably isn’t up to running a slicker version of the operating system. Bad news for some, but it has to happen sometime.

If Apple does announce the iTablet next week, then it would makes sense for it to share certain software features with the iPhone, but is it likely to launching another major iPhone OS update so soon after the last one? iPhone OS 3.0 was only released last June and the latest version is still only 3.1, so either this story is bunk, or Apple really is planning a major attack on the touch-screen scene.

Inevitably, any talk of a new iPhone operating system also entails talk of a new iPhone and, again, there’s a suspicion that Apple may announce the hardware next week for a launch later in the year.

Gizmodo has rounded up the iPhone 4 rumours to date, but there’s little to get excited about — they mostly consist of incremental hardware upgrades. The most tantalising is a touch-sensitive case that incorporates some of the ideas from Apple’s Magic Mouse and harks back to that Apple patent we mentioned yesterday, but such a feature won’t please aftermarket case manufacturers…

[BGR | Gizmodo]