Apple's iPhone 4 may get HD video, file-sharing; multitasking for sure

Apple's iPhone version 4, due out this summer, will support high-definition video, file-sharing between the iPhone and desktop computers, and improved tools for managing multitasking applications, according to reports on Apple blogs.

The new iPhone will record high-definition video, according to Arnold Kim, writing at MacRumors. MacRumors analyzed the SDK for the next iPhone operating system, Version 4, and discovered instructions to capture video at 1280x720. The current rate for iPhone video capture is 640x480.

The new phone will probably have a 5 megapixel camera, Macrumors says.

iPhone 4.0 provides APIs to give developers access to video capture data, which will allow new video editing and augmented reality capabilities in apps, MacRumors said.

The fourth-generation iPhone will probably be unveiled -- and possibly even go on sale to customers -- during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, which starts June 7. The iPad will get the iPhone 4.0 OS in the fall, Apple has said.

Boy Genius Report installed iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3 and reports on new features, with screenshots.

The iPhone 4.0 OS will include file sharing between the iPhone and computer, new widgets to control media players, controls for closing multitasking applications, and orientation lock, according to BGR's Michael Bettiol.

File sharing works through iTunes, as it does now on the iPad. "You plug your iPhone into iTunes, head on over to the Apps page and scroll down. From there you’ll be able to drag files to and from your iPhone and your computer," BGR says.

Widgets to control the iPod application appear when you start the multitasking interface, and swipe to the left, BGR says. The widget allows users to play, pause, move between tracks, and open the iPod app. This sounds similar to the interface you can now access by double-tapping the home button.

The multitasking interface described by BGR closes applications in a way that sounds similar to how users of current iPhones delete apps. With the multitasking user interface running, press and hold the icon for an application and then you can rapidly close whichever apps you wish to close.

"Some may remember that Steve Jobs indicated at the iPhone 4 media event that task managers are evil and should be reviled, but apparently things have changed," writes Jeff Smykll on Ars Technica's preview of iPhone OS 4.

And you can also use a gesture to stop the iPhone from switching between landscape and portrait mode when you turn it, BGR says. The iPad has a hardware lock button to do the same thing. (And it occurs to me now that I've never used it -- I don't even know where it is. Eventually, I'll want to use the iPad to read in bed and I'll find it then, after a certain amount of swearing.)

Further out than iPhone 4.0, Apple could be including an embedded heart rate monitor in the iPhone, writes "staska" on UnwiredView.com. The device, embedded in the iPhone case, would be used to identify the person holding the phone using biometrics.

Neil Hughes at AppleInsider has more technical details on how the iPhone heart rate monitor would work.

"Pretty cool idea," says staska. "Unfortunately, it’s only at a patent stage, and its implementation will depend a lot on availability of reliable enough sensors, and processing software, which may not be up to the task yet."

In other iPhone news: Apple is working on a secret VIP ad program for iPhone apps, reports TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld.

Mitch Wagner is a freelance technology journalist and social media marketing consultant. Follow him on Twitter: @MitchWagner.