Rumoured iOS 8 Split-Screen App Modes for iPad Tipped in Leaked Video

Apple has been rumoured to be working on iPad's split-screen multitasking feature, which is already available in rival tablets. The Cupertino-based giant was expected to debut the feature at the company's recently concluded Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2014); however, this never happened.

Now, a developer named Steven Troughton-Smith has shared a video on Twitter that hints the company might still be testing the feature internally for its iPad tablets. The developer, according to 9to5mac, hacked the iOS 8 iPad Simulator to check the functionality.

The video shows the Safari browser taking half the iPad's display, while the other half is blank tipping that Smith has only made the function work partially.

The video shows different split-screen modes in action on the simulator and indicate that the various modes can be adjusted according to the running apps. The video also shows a two-finger swipe gesture on-screen.

9to5macspeculates that the split-screen multitasking UI for iPad tablets can be introduced in iOS 8.1, iOS 9 or with a new iPad model.

Notably, Microsoft in the past had been mocking iPad tablets for their lack of multitasking features. The Microsoft Surface features 'snap' apps which can run two apps simultaneously, while Samsung's Galaxy tablet line-up comes with its Multi Window feature.

Apple at its WWDC event announced new operating systems for its Mac computers and iOS devices, or OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 respectively. At the event, Apple did not launch any new devices; however, introduced a slew of software features.

The iOS 8 beta software and SDK were available immediately for iOS Developer Program members after the release announcement. iOS 8 will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPod touch 5th generation, iPad 2, iPad with Retina display, iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad mini with Retina display.