Apple Worldwide Developer Conference

Apple has shown a renewed focus on Maps with iOS 8. Although headline features like transit did not show at WWDC, recent iOS 8 betas are bringing improvements to the ‘Report A Problem’ features. The frequency at which these updates are passed through has also improved dramatically in the past couple of months.

Apple has added a new explicit ‘follow-up by email’ option at the end of the Report A Problem form. This means Apple is now actively looking to get additional information about map queries from customers via email.

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As we reported in May, Apple is working on a split-screen multitasking feature for iPad apps for a version of iOS 8. The feature, akin to the key productivity function on the Microsoft Surface, was not announced at WWDC last week, but code references to the feature have been found across the iOS 8 Software Development Kit.

Now, developer Steven Troughton-Smith has dug further into the upcoming split-screen multitasking feature and has hacked the iOS 8 iPad Simulator to make the function partially work. As can be seen  above, Safari is taking up half the display. The tweaking to the simulator is yet to completely unlock all functionality with two different apps running side by side, but this demonstrates that Apple has been definitely testing the feature internally.

Troughton-Smith has also put together a video showing the split-screen mode in action on the simulator. That video can be seen below:

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In the several months leading up to Apple’s 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference, we reported on several features on tap for iOS 8, the new iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch operating system, and OS X Yosemite. Many of the features we reported on were announced last week: improved messaging, revamped notifications, various user-interface enhancements, indoor mapping, iCloud improvements for end-users and developers, Shazam in Siri, Voice Memos improvements, the redesigned Mac interface, multi-resolution mode for Xcode app testing, and of course, health-tracking integration. But some of the reporting did not become official last week. Namely, the Healthbook name, various improvements to Apple’s controversial mapping software, and a split-screen iPad multitasking mode.

Let’s go through each feature one-by-one.

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