Managing audio properties and keeping silent

When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone in 2007, he declared the device to be a phone, Internet browser, and an iPod all in one. The last point specifically was of great importance at the time, as the iPod brand was far and away the strongest line of MP3 players available on the market.

Immediately it became clear that the iPhone would be a pocket device designed to hold all of the user's music, movies, and more. When the App Store was announced, it was clear from day one that developers would be working on a platform that was used as a multi-feature device throughout the day.

As the device is most likely our user's primary audio device, we may see a situation quite often where the device is being used as an MP3 player while also using our application. As such, we should be mindful to not to hog the device's audio properties.

The most important interface function we should provide is to take note of the current audio state of the application...