iOS App Switcher Concept: Multitasking Redesign

 

 

Yes, this is another multitasking/app switcher concept video. Why’d I make it? Well one: because they’re fun to do; and two: because every second day you’ll hear someone whine about the lack of ‘actual multitasking’ in iOS, yet most app switching concepts don’t actually attempt to address this complaint. So, taking cues from my imagination and inspiration from current concepts, I began to create and iterate upon a design that is vastly different from the app switching you use every day on your iOS device. Essentially, this post is my attempt to verbalise this design process.

Before I begin though, want to see what the switcher concept would look like on your iPhone 5? Check out this video from your device, to watch an 1136 x 640 demo.

To start, I want to clarify: there is a huge difference between app switching and multitasking. Arguably, Apple’s implementation is closer to the former, as there are limited ways in which you can truly ‘multitask’. Currently in iOS, one ‘active’ app is present on the screen at any given time. Switching to a different app gives it the ‘active’ status, replacing the content that previously filled the screen.

To be honest, the switcher concept is also likely categorised as app switching than multitasking. However, it has some significant differences/advantages, that start to bridge the gap between the two terms. Probably the most beneficial advantage, is it’s ability to allow apps to maintain a ‘semi-active’ status even when not in use. The benefits of such a system are seen in the switcher concept video, where the user is able to switch between the Mail, Haze and Flipboard apps, whilst watching them update live. There are more benefits then simply live updates however. For example, the combination of full app previews, the large icon and name presented underneath each app, make it much more obvious which app you’re switching to, and prepares you for what to expect when revisiting that app. The switcher concept also solves the problem in which the iPhone’s screen is too small to use multiple finger gestures (as the iPad does to switch between apps). By double tapping the home button, you are now in the switcher, and are able to switch between apps in a manner similar to an iPad. Further, it allows for prime positioning of the toggles, brightness and music controls. By separating the controls from the apps, they can now be positioned off to the left and right of the screen, minimising total swipes.

Additionally, a simple but largely useful aspect of the concept is included in the search function: simply type the name of the app you’re after, and it will appear. Yes, I realise spotlight provides system wide search already, but that’s the thing: it searches system wide. The benefit here, is that you’re searching for apps and apps only. This will ostracise apps from other general data, allowing them to be found much quicker. Plus, you’re seeing a live tile at the same time. In a way, this is similar to launchpad for OS X.

As for the music controls, a scrubber was excluded as it would begin to blur the line between the switcher and an actual music app. My opinion, is that the switcher should provide important controls… accidentally start a loud song in the middle of a church service? Use the switcher to pause or lower the volume. Scrubbing through a song isn’t quite as necessary.

As for the actual design, I decided not to go flat (despite it’s vocal supporters) as that clearly isn’t a large part of Apple’s design ethos… yet. Yes, I realise that neither is the grey gradient used in the background. To me however, that is more justifiable. I tried it with multiple variations of Apple’s linen, but of course it just looked awful. Further, the grey gradient aims to give the music controls better visibility, and act in contrast to apps that may have a similar, uniform background colour.

Finally, during the early design stages, there were plans to have favourite apps ‘pinned’ to the start of the stack, allowing them to be accessed quickly. Issues were evident after more thought however. Most obvious, was that the home screen already provides this functionality. Secondly, it would oppose the whole intent of the switcher, which is to provide easy switching between recently used apps.

So that’s it: my thoughts and justification for my concept. If you haven’t seen the video yet, get to it… I would love to hear your feedback on the design. Also if your interested, check out the original Dribble post here!

Posted in iOS Concept | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
  • […] Noch mehr Infos und die Ideen zum Konzept von Jesse Head findet ihr direkt auf seiner Homepage. […]

  • […] Read More […]

  • […] Sursa: jessehead […]

  • […] Lansarea iOS 7 se apropie cu pasi repezi, insa pana atunci va prezint un nou concept care din pacate va ramane doar la stadiul asta, cel putin acum. In clipul video de […]

  • […] Via: Jesse Head’s blog […]

  • […] Gisteren hadden we dit iOS 7 concept voor je. In die video zag je een compleet nieuw lockscreen samen met een nieuw uiterlijk voor je notificaties. Ditmaal hebben we een ander iOS 7 concept voor je van Jesse Head. […]

  • […] Via: Jesse Head’s blog […]

  • […] there’s another new one, that imagines a redesigned task-switcher. In this concept made by Jesse Head, when you double tap on the iPhone’s Home button, the multi-tasking bar opens up in full […]

  • […] Read more on Jesse’s Blog […]

  • […] few months and today, yet another one of those multitasking/app switcher concepts has hit the web. According to the concept designer, there is a big difference between app switching and multitasking, and […]

  • […] [Source] […]

  • […] few months and today, yet another one of those multitasking/app switcher concepts has hit the web. According to the concept designer, there is a big difference between app switching and multitasking, and […]

  • […] there’s another new one, that imagines a redesigned task-switcher. In this concept made by Jesse Head, when you double tap on the iPhone’s Home button, the multi-tasking bar opens up in full […]

  • […] another new one that imagines a redesigned task-switcher. In this concept made by Jesse Head, when you double tap on the iPhone’s Home button, the multi-tasking bar opens up in full […]

  • […] another new one that imagines a redesigned task-switcher. In this concept made by Jesse Head, when you double tap on the iPhone’s Home button, the multi-tasking bar opens up in full […]

  • […] JH, […]

  • […] few months and today, yet another one of those multitasking/app switcher concepts has hit the web. According to the concept designer, there is a big difference between app switching and multitasking, and […]

  • By iOS 7 Multitasken concept | iPhonemania.nl on March 23, 2013 at 11:52 pm

    […] heeft Jesse Head een iOS 7 concept gemaakt. In zijn concept zien we een vernieuwde app switcher, of te wel […]

  • […] You will have to agree though that the App Switcher is a pretty neat concept feature that, as batteries get better, could come to optimize how we run apps on our smartphones. It is mentioned in the video that the average number of apps on an iPhone is 41. This means that with this feature we could optimize a whole lot of our app usage, but our battery life will be drained to nothing in a matter of minutes. So far this will remain a concept feature that every iPhone user will crave until it becomes a reality. App Switcher is conceptualized by designer Jesse Head. […]

  • […] Via: Jesse Head’s blog […]

  • […] by Jesse Head, the task switcher is called Live Previews which displays a full screen preview of each App that is […]

  • […] JH, […]

  • […] Jesse Head created what is one of the best looking iOS 7 concepts to date. The video below highlights a new direction for multitasking in iOS 7. This is not an official leak by any means, but it does show how Apple could change things up to deliver a new experience in iOS 7. […]

  • By The Next iOS Needs to Look Like This | News on March 26, 2013 at 4:10 am

    […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this […]

  • By === popurls.com === popular today on March 26, 2013 at 4:40 am

    === popurls.com === popular today…

    yeah! this story has entered the popular today section on popurls.com…

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] concepto de gestor multitareas para iPhone ha sido desarrollado por Jesse Head y, teniendo en cuenta los monstruosos procesadores que calzan los actuales smartphones de gama alta […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. More » Cellular People news […]

  • […] concepto de gestor multitareas para iPhone ha sido desarrollado por Jesse Head y, teniendo en cuenta los monstruosos procesadores que calzan los actuales smartphones de gama alta […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • By Appyummy » The Next iOS Needs to Look Like This on March 26, 2013 at 5:39 am

    […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. More » Send to a […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] concepto de gestor multitareas para iPhone ha sido desarrollado por Jesse Head y, teniendo en cuenta los monstruosos procesadores que calzan los actuales smartphones de gama alta […]

  • […] this, and maybe hire Jesse Head, because he’s doing a better job making iOS 6 than you are. [Jesse Head via […]

  • […] Jessy Head через […]

  • By What I want to see in iOS 7 | North of Park on March 26, 2013 at 8:18 am

    […] concept, by Jesse Head, is exactly what Multitasking should be like – live app previews, controls, speed, and […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • By What The Next iOS Should Look Like - distrb.me on March 26, 2013 at 10:00 am

    […] What The Next iOS Should Look Like […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • By The Next iOS Needs to Look Like This - Techtypr on March 26, 2013 at 12:25 pm

    […] (Jesse Head via TechBlock) […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] concepto de gestor multitareas para iPhone ha sido desarrollado por Jesse Head y, teniendo en cuenta los monstruosos procesadores que calzan los actuales smartphones de gama alta […]

  • […] Izvor… […]

  • […] mockup è stato proposto da Jesse Head e sicuramente associa utilizzabilità e design. Secondo quanto dice Jesse, questi concept […]

  • By iOS 7 concept: il multitasking rivisitato on March 26, 2013 at 5:01 pm

    […] mockup è stato proposto da Jesse Head e sicuramente associa utilizzabilità e design. Secondo quanto dice Jesse, questi concept sono […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • By The Next iOS Needs to Look Like This | Padroni on March 26, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] Jesse Head tarafından tasarlanan konsept şu anda iOS cihazlarda bulunan çoklu görev yönetimi […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] not the most original idea, we have to say it is one of the better interpretations; thanks to JH. If you watch the video from beginning to end you would almost believe Jony Ive and his team […]

  • […] Más información | Jesse Head […]

  • […] Más información | Jesse Head […]

  • […] Más información | Jesse Head […]

  • […] Features für iOS7 niedergeschrieben, da geht auch schon wieder ein weiteres Video um, indem sich Jesse Head einmal Gedanken gemacht hat, wie man den App-Switcher modifizieren und aufwerten könnte. […]

  • […] caminho para uma renovação no iOS, para tornar o sistema novamente empolgante e interessante. [Jesse Head via TechBlock, Gizmodo […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • By iOS 7: Concept dedicato al Multitasking on March 27, 2013 at 3:25 am

    […] concept proposto da Jesse Head parte dal presupposto che, durante il funzionamento giornaliero, iPhone mantiene una quindicina di […]

  • […] caminho para uma renovação no iOS, para tornar o sistema novamente empolgante e interessante. [Jesse Head via TechBlock, Gizmodo […]

  • […] Jesse Head, […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] app switching and multitasking. For more information, I’ve posted my thoughts on my blog (jessehead.co/blog/2013/03/20/ios-app-switcher-concept-multitasking-redesign/), describing the kind of decisions that went into this design concept. If you’re feeling […]

  • […] mockup è stato proposto da Jesse Head e sicuramente associa utilizzabilità e design. Secondo quanto dice Jesse, questi concept sono […]

  • By URL on March 28, 2013 at 5:27 am

    … [Trackback]…

    […] There you will find 51581 more Infos: jessehead.co/blog/2013/03/20/ios-app-switcher-concept-multitasking-redesign/ […]…

  • […] Más información | Jesse Head […]

  • […] concepts by random aspirers. The latest that has caught my attention is Australian designer Jesse Head‘s redesigned multitasking interface, which may very well fit in the next iteration of iOS. […]

  • […] új koncepció ötlete Jesse Head nevéhez fűződik és alkalmazások közötti váltás hatékonyabb és látványosabb módját […]

  • […] Jesse Head je naredil nov koncept iOS 7 preklopa med aplikacijami, poglejte si video. […]

  • […] conceito abaixo criado por Jesse Head, sugere uma página inteira para a multitarefa, onde mostram não só o icone do app mas uma […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • […] do it instead of, you know, Apple. Like this revamped vision for iPhone multitasking. Apple, steal this now. […]

  • By iOS Switcher | unblogged on April 18, 2013 at 4:45 am

    […] por eso que Jesse Head, un diseñador/developer de Australia, armó un concepto muy interesante de “app […]

  • […] JH, […]

  • […] concepto de gestor multitareas para iPhone ha sido desarrollado por Jesse Head y, teniendo en cuenta los monstruosos procesadores que calzan los actuales smartphones de gama alta […]

  • By google on June 14, 2013 at 4:37 pm
  • […] few months and today, yet another one of those multitasking/app switcher concepts has hit the web. According to the concept designer, there is a big difference between app switching and multitasking, and […]

  • […] few months and today, yet another one of those multitasking/app switcher concepts has hit the web. According to the concept designer, there is a big difference between app switching and multitasking, and […]

  • By The Next iOS Needs to Look Like This | Links Locker on November 2, 2013 at 3:13 am

    […] do it instead of, we know, Apple. Like this revamped prophesy for iPhone multitasking. Apple, take this […]

  • […] iOS 7 Konzept des Bloggers Jesse Head setzt auf Design-Anleihen des Web OS Betriebssystems von Palm, zeigt Hintergrund-Anwendungen in […]