Apple “investigating” multi-user functionality on the iPad

Considering that there are families who purchase a single iPad and share it amongst themselves, wouldn’t it be a good idea if there was a multi-user feature that allows users to log into their own profile with their own settings, wallpapers, apps, etc? While there are jailbreak solutions, something in the official capacity would most probably be appreciated and if such a feature is one that you’ve been waiting for, the good news is that Apple appears to be “investigating” it.

Thanks to the folks at AppleInsider, they have gotten their hands on an email from Apple to an iOS developer over the “missing” multi-user feature and this is what it reads:

“Hello [redacted],

This is a follow up to Bug ID# [redacted]. After further investigation it has been determined that this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering. The issue has been filed in our bug database under the original Bug ID# [redacted]. The original bug number being used to track this duplicate issue can be found in the State column, in this format: Duplicate/OrigBug#.

Thank you for submitting this bug report. We truly appreciate your assistance in helping us discover and isolate bugs.

Best Regards,

Apple Developer Connection

Worldwide Developer Relations”

Supposedly Apple has been working on some form of multi-user support since 2010 and has experimented with a couple of methods of logging in, such as face recognition via the front-facing camera. Other features includes inter-profile and shareable sticky notes. While the email states that Apple is “investigating” the matter, it is not a confirmation that we will be seeing it any time soon, but there’s always the chance it could end up being a feature in iOS 6. In any case we guess we will just have to wait this one out.

iPad users, is multi-user support a feature you’re looking forward to?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Tablets
Tags: iPad