Multitasking

We recently took a look at jLauncher, which upgrades the stock multitasking dock into a full screen control center. Although there are many of these tweaks available, Auxo brings app switcher redesign to a new level. The idea for Auxo was originally just a concept, but designer @Sentry_NC has teamed up with developers to make the iOS tweak reality.

Auxo replaces the normal multitasking dock icons with versatile app cards. Besides offering a preview of each app, they can be removed by simply swiping down. No more holding an icon and tapping red circles individually. Tapping and holding one app card will give you the option to remove all multitasking and recently opened apps at once. Auxo will even remind you that an app is doing something in the background, such as playing music, and confirm the exit.

One thing that can be annoying is the default behavior of the iPhone status bar. For one, whenever you open the multitasking app switcher, the entire thing gets pushed off the screen. Is there really any good reason for this? Well now you can force the status bar to stay put even when you open the multitasking dock.

The way to accomplish this is a free jailbreak tweak from Cydia called Status Bar Switcher. In order to install this tweak your iPhone must be jailbroken. Once installed there are no settings to configure, just respring and the status bar will stop moving off the screen.

Thanks to MultiCleaner iPhone users no longer have to manually quit each application running in the iOS multitasking dock to free up RAM and improve performance. Not only does the $0.99 jailbreak tweak make it possible to set up custom Activator triggers to quit all apps, it offers customization for multitasking dock behavior.

Apps can be pinned to the left side of the multitasking bar for quick access, and app icons can be rearranged within the multitasking bar. When apps are not running but have been recently opened, the icon appears darkened, while actively running background apps are normally displayed.

Sometimes you need to free up resources such as processing power or memory on your iPhone or other iOS device. There are applications that run in the background in iOS 4 and once launched they will appear in the multitasking dock. Some recently launched applications don't actually run anything in the background but an icon will appear in the multitasking dock anyway. To quit apps using the multitasking dock:

1. If you're currently in an application press the home button so you're starting from the home screen.
2. Double press the home button to bring up the mutitasking dock.

After receiving 250,000 downloads on the Android Market, Thrutu decided to bring its popular multitasking app to the iPhone.

The app allows users to share photos and important information with other Thrutu users without interrupting their conversation. This is a great tool for giving people directions by letting them know where you are. With the touch of a button, you can instantly send someone your location and view each other on a live map while talking on the phone. You can even snap pictures of landmarks to make it easier for your friends to locate their destination.

Apps can be designed to run in the background on iOS 4. Some users have reported battery drain or other issues and they suspect some apps might be the culprit. Icons for recently opened apps appear in the fast app switching (or multitasking) dock.

Apps can't be prevented from running in the background, however you can quit them by following these steps:

1. To access the dock double-click the Home button.

2. Swipe left and right to see all of the icons for recently used apps. Some of these may be running in the background. Others are in a suspended state.

The popular photo sharing site Flickr first launched its native iPhone app in September 2009. The latest update, version 1.2, is now available on iTunes and takes advantage of new features in the iOS 4 operating system. Multitasking allows photo and video uploads in the background instead of preoccupying the iPhone until the task is complete. A badge on the app icon indicates how many uploads are processing.

Fast app switching means that every time you open Flickr, the app will remember exactly where you left off last time the app was used, and you can continue what you were doing. HD video upload capability will be useful for those iPhone 4 owners who enjoy recording 720p video on their devices. Hopefully Flickr will add high-resolution support for the Apple retina display in the next update.