Apple to begin allowing background tasks on the iPhone

Apple used to be famous for their background push data feature, yet they made the decision to abandon it in the iPhone. Now they are reportedly considering an option that would allow iPhone applications to run in the background, thus giving iPhone the ability to truly multitask.

Rumor has it that Apple is considering allowing programs to operate as "user selectable background processes."

When Apple initially unveiled background push notification at the Worldwide Developers Conference in 2008, the company made fun of companies such as Microsoft and other smartphone developers for not providing users with simple solutions to switch between applications. During the June event, Apple claimed that they felt push notification was a compromise that would close applications but keep them running pulling information in via an Internet channel. For instance, an instant messaging application would signal when it received new messages without remaining open, killing battery life.

Since then the company hasn't had a lot to say in regards to the issue.

With its first release including background notifications, the fourth developer test version removed the feature, and it has not been added back.

With no real reason for Apple to remove the feature, Apple fans have stated that the delay is so that the company can unveil the addition with its next major revision. The current iPhone would struggle to support multiple applications as it only has a 412MHz ARM processor and 128MB of temporary memory.