Apple to unveil iPhone OS 4.0

Apple inc. are to be expected to reveal their brand spanking new update to their existing and highly popular OS making the leap to 4.0 soon.

Apple has invited journalists to what it is calling ‘a sneak peek at the future of iPhone OS’ in San Francisco today. Of all the rumours (and wild guesses) that traditionally swirl around any Apple launch, the launch of the mobile advertising platform seems the most certain.

The service – inevitably dubbed ‘iAd’ by some commenters, and possibly by Apple themselves – would let developers of apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad easily place adverts in their apps.

This could, in turn, make it more cost-effective for app developers to release their products for free.

The advertising platform would be based on Apple’s purchase of mobile advertising specialists Quattro Wireless in January – and would put them in direct competition with Google, who bought rival mobile ad firm AdMob from under Apple’s noses last November. Ironically, this competition would probably be welcomed by Google – they’re currently facing an anti-trust investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission, which the emergence of a major rival would undoubtedly alleviate.

Less certain – but still widely expected – is that Apple will also finally unveil multitasking capabilities for the iPhone, allowing users to run more than one app at a time. This would be especially good news for music apps like Spotify, and IM or VOIP apps such as Skype, which are especially hampered by the inability to do anything else while using them.

It would also nullify one of the biggest advantages Google’s increasingly popular Android – which offered multitasking from the start – has over the iPhone.

Other features that Apple are rumoured to be unveiling today include the ability to print directly from the iPhone, and syncing with your computer over a wireless connection.

Another possibility is video chat – which would indicate that the new iPhone hardware, expected to be unveiled this summer, would also have a front-facing camera, currently absent from the iPhone.