Multi-window is a term that is now closely associated with Samsung thanks to the company’s early decision to test the waters with a setup of more than one window on mobile devices. This was informed by the need to do more, to multitask on devices like the Galaxy Note smartphones and the tablets that followed. It has since become a must-have feature on other Samsung Galaxy devices and others like LG have even borrowed a leaf and developed some admirable versions of multi-window of their own. Apple could be the next one to do so.
According to 9to5Google, Apple has been testing dual-app window mode on its tablet, the iPad, for a while now and is expected to showcase it as the standout feature when it finally makes official the next generation iPad(s). The upcoming tablets are expected to feature much larger displays than the current 9.4 inch display on the iPad Air 2. The dual-app window feature is supposed to take advantage of the extra screen real estate. As will the rumoured multi-user support.
iPads have stood out as family-friendly devices and Apple has done a lot to make sure they accommodate everyone from the 2 year olds to the ageing. So as to avoid scenarios like when a kid uses their parent’s setup credit card to make in-game purchases when gaming and other scenarios like work and play, multi-user is expected to standout as well. Google first introduce native multi-user support to Android with the first generation Nexus 7 back in 2012 with smartphones only getting it last year with Lollipop despite manufacturers fiddling with their own implementations of the same for quite sometime.
While we may not know when these features will show up, they are expected to be available no later than next year so they could show up as early as the next iOS release (iOS 9 at WWDC early next month) or when the expected 12-inch iPad Pro is launched; if at all it exists. Apple watchers are outdoing each other predicting when the next iDevices will be announced with August suddenly being a likely date, early and unexpected from the usual September launch.
