Apple owns a plethora of patents and are adding new ones to the list every day. We saw the biometric scanner patent a few days ago that was certainly one of the more interesting filings we’ve recently seen. The patent Apple has been granted today might come as a surprise to many. This is a patent for iOS multitasking interface.
The interface in question can be seen when you double press the home button on an iPhone, iPad or the iPod touch. The menu that pops up from the bottom shows apps that are opened or were recently opened. Long pressing the icons also allows to close the apps. This interface has become an indispensable part of iOS ever since Apple introduced multitasking on its mobile OS way back in early 2010. True multitasking was introduced as part of iOS 4.0.
Many might find the patent for iOS multitasking a little odd since the interface in question is now considered quite dated, especially when compared to the new multitasking. But in reality this was filed way back in September 2010. That’s over two years ago. Just gets to show you how backed up the patent system in the US is.
