White iPhone 4 Video Shows iOS Features That Should’ve Been

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Despite its mythical, mystical, magical status among the tech press, I could care less about the white iPhone 4. But show me some new iOS features, and you’ve got my interest.

That’s why these videos from Tinhte.vn are worth posting. Sure, it shows a white iPhone 4 in action, but it also demonstrates a different version of multitasking than the one found in Apple’s iOS 4.

Instead of opening an app tray on the bottom of the screen, double-tapping the home button brings up a grid of up to nine little windows that occupy the entire screen. It’s like the iPhone version of Exposé in Mac OS X. Spotlight search has also been moved to this multitasking menu from its current location to the left of the home screen.

This is the version of multitasking that the iPhone should’ve had all along. The existing version only shows four apps at a time, and the app icons convey no information about what’s happening in each app. Exposé-style multitasking, which was rumored for iOS 4 last year, would’ve at least provided a better look at which apps are running in the background. The relocation of Spotlight search also fits nicely with this birds-eye view of open apps.

Unfortunately, this version of multitasking may never become part of the iPhone. As Engadget points out, the presence of internal Apple programs in Tinhte.vn’s videos suggest that this is old, unreleased software, rather than an upcoming version of iOS. Still, with Apple planning to talk up “the future of iOS” at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, there’s hope for a big software overhaul to come.

And hey, you’ll probably be able to get a white iPhone by then, too.