About a week ago, the
final version of iOS 4.3 was released to iOS developers, to allow them to test their apps against the new iteration of the operating system. As of 10AM Pacific Time this morning, the operating system is available to all iPhone 3GS/4, iPad 1/2, and third and fourth generation iPod touch owners.
The new OS, labeled build 8F190, introduces several new features, such as personal hotspot support, iTunes subscriptions support, and AirPlay video streaming for third-party apps, to name a few. The new OS also offers full support for the iPad 2.
iOS 4.3 also features a new ultra-fast JavaScript engine, dubbed ‘
Nitro‘, designed to boost Mobile Safari’s performance by up to three times.
The new iOS iteration also supports new
multi-fingers multitasking gestures on the iPad, designed to allow users to quickly jump from one application to the other. However, even though the feature is built into iOS 4.3, Apple decided not to enable it for now, and only iOS developers are allowed to play with it at this stage.
The iOS 4.3 update is the exact same gold master build that was seeded to developers last week. Apple also released a separate software update for the upcoming iPad 2, build 8F191 (three different firmwares are available: Wi-Fi only, at&t and Verizon iPad 2s), and for the second generation Apple TV, build 8F191m.
Verizon iPhone 4 users will need to wait until iOS 4.3.1 is out, as this release is not compatible with their device.
Direct links:
Release notes:
This update contains new features and improvements, including the following:
- Personal Hotspot
– Share iPhone 4 cellular data with up to 5 devices (combination of up to 3 Wi-Fi, 3 Bluetooth, and 1 USB)
- iTunes Home Sharing
– Play music, movies, and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2)
- New AirPlay features
– Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps and websites on Apple TV
– Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using transitions available on Apple TV
- Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript engine
- HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter
– View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app, Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled third-party apps on an HDMI display
- Ping features
– Push notifications for comments and follow requests
– Post and Like songs directly from the Now Playing screen
– Parental controls
- New Settings
– Messages setting for number of times to repeat an alert
– iPad side switch setting to lock screen rotation or mute audio notifications and sound effects
- Single tap conference call dialing with a pause to send a passcode
- Bug fixes
