So will these new features solve every issue that developers and users have with iPhone apps running in the background? Chances are good that there will still be edge cases, certain uses of certain apps that won't be solved by these systems. We'll know more when the update arrives this summer.

But by introducing these features to iPhone OS 4.0, Apple seems to have addressed the most glaring issues with the inability of third-party apps to run in the background, most notably with issues of app switching, streaming audio, and location awareness.