iPhone OS 4 hacked to allow multi-tasking on the iPhone 3G

Apple’s new iPhone OS 4 operating system hasn’t isn’t even finished yet, but hackers have already figured out a way to crack it open to allow any third-party application to be installed through a process called ‘jailbreaking’.

The hack also allows the iPhone 3G to use the same multi-tasking features that will be sanctioned on the iPhone 3GS. At the moment, this older iPhone won’t officially support the full set of new iPhone OS 4 features due its slower processor and lesser amount of RAM.

The hack is unlikely to offer a way for iPhone 3G owners to avoid upgrading if they want the complete iPhone OS 4 experience, though. Multi-tasking is implemented via a number of background services that apps can call upon — the hackers’ video demo doesn’t show any apps actually running in the background, just ones that have been paused for quick return.

The thinking is that the iPhone 3G will grind to a halt with two or three apps running at the same time, though we’ll reserve final judgment until we see some further evidence on video.

iPhone OS 4 is scheduled for release this summer and the expectation is that the operating system will be signed off in time for the anticipated 22 June iPhone 4G launch. Speaking of which, some photos have emerged that purport to show the casing of the new iPhone.

The images show a (presumably) aluminium unibody case that closely resembles that of the current iPhone, but there a few reasons to suspect that they’re not the real deal. First, an all-metal case would increase weight and create problems for radio transmission — the original metal-bodied iPhone and current iPad 3G both have plastic cutouts to remedy this. Second, that angular back just doesn’t look very nice and it’s hard to see how Apple would be happy with such a clunky design.

We’ll no doubt see more ‘leaked’ iPhone 4G images as 22 June approaches, so it’ll be interesting to see if Apple can keep a lid on things in the meantime.

[via BoyGeniusReport & MacRumours]