Apple Isn’t Debuting Split-Screen iPad Multitasking at WWDC Says Reporter

Bad news for iPad users: turns out that the reports of Apple showing off split-screen multitasking for the iPad at next week’s WWDC event were a bit premature. New reports are saying that it simply isn’t ready for prime time.

Here’s the scoop from New York Times writer Brian X. Chen:

I’ve been told that the split-screen feature for iOS 8 isn’t ready yet and won’t be shown at WWDC. Still a work in progress.

— Brian X. Chen (@bxchen) May 29, 2014

That is so. Lame.

This obviously isn’t the worst news ever. And, frankly, is it even fair to be disappointed that we might not hear about a feature that was never officially said to be coming anyway? Probably not.

But Apple would have had quite the feather in its cap if it could’ve revealed split-screen multitasking for the iPad next week, especially in the wake of Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 3 being unveiled a couple weeks ago. That device is much more expensive than the iPad, but it’s also one of Microsoft’s best attempts to make a consumer product that takes on Apple directly. With the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft said, “why bother with a Macbook Air when you could get this sweet baby?”

If Apple could then turn around and show how an iPad – armed with Office for iPad – could be just as productive as a Surface Pro…well, that’d be something worth noting. As it is, it sounds as though all we’ll really get from WWDC is the announcement of iOS 8, and a smart home platform.

The latter should be interesting, but from what we can tell, the iPhone 6 and the long-rumored iWatch won’t be in attendance at the event. I was hoping that the transformative multitasking feature for the iPad would be enough to inject a little life into what’s been the same kind of device generation after generation. But as it turns out, I’ll have to keep waiting for that feature to show up. Alas.

[Source: BGR]