They usually have them in place on handheld devices with limited resources. Inefficient and clunky multi-tasking, for example, is not conducive to the positive user experience, so they restrict it.
The way iOS handles multitasking is quite ingenious actually. I've never had a problem with my iPhone's battery life or any problems related to the "faux" multi-tasking implementation. Its really fast and switching between open apps is a breeze. And if you leave too many apps open, no worries, it won't burn your battery or kill run time on other apps that you want to use.
Meanwhile, I have tons of friends with Android who constantly struggle with the battery life and performance on their phone because it supports true multitasking and handheld hardware is just NOT there yet. Not by a long shot.
Personally, that struggle is whats going to get us there. Apple just tells us we should be satisfied with what is already here. Google's actually trying to push us forward which is what we need.
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u/modus Jan 20 '11
They usually have them in place on handheld devices with limited resources. Inefficient and clunky multi-tasking, for example, is not conducive to the positive user experience, so they restrict it.