Apple has just released a new version of iOS for the Apple TV second-generation — iOS 4.3 with build number 8F455. Whilst there is no official changelog for the update yet, a series of tweets from Daring Fireball’s John Gruber suggests iOS 4.3 brings the possibility of streaming purchased TV Shows, including all the shows you’ve already bought in iTunes. Since the introduction of iCloud at the WWDC in June, Apple rolled out new features in iTunes to let users re-download every single purchase they made with their Apple IDs — this applied to music, apps, and books. With a new tab in the same Purchased section, Apple now allows you to re-watch TV Shows you’ve bought through iTunes. The “Purchased” option in iTunes was announced alongside iCloud (which will launch this Fall) and the broader iTunes in the Cloud initiative — in spite of iCloud still being a “beta” for developers, every Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple TV can benefit from these re-download functionalities now. (more…)
BGR reports this morning that Apple is looking to launch another version of iOS 4.3 within two weeks. The update, labelled iOS 4.3.2, should contain various fixes and enhancements, address security issues (quite possibly a jailbreak fix) and it “will also fix several bugs that have affected users.”
On March 21st, BGR reported iOS 4.3.1 would be released within “one or two weeks”, and the OS was released on Friday, March 25th. If BGR’s track record is of any indication, there is the small chance to see iOS 4.3.2 becoming available next week if Apple really wants to close security holes and fix bugs quickly. In the past weeks, several users running iOS 4.3.1 reported bugs in the FaceTime application for iPad and iPhone, WiFi connectivity issues after the 4.3.1 upgrade and other minor glitches in the Camera app.
iLounge has posted its usual rundown of what’s new in the latest Apple TV software update, and this time it looks rather huge. One problem, though: why does Apple keep naming ATV software releases inconsistently with the rest of iOS devices? Internally the Apple TV displays “4.3″, but Apple calls it “4.2 software update”. This is beyond my understanding.
Anyway, the new sports applications baked into the ATV look great, especially the MLB.TV one with all those fancy graphics, interactive menus and HD video. I’m not baseball or basketball expert (but I like an NBA game every once in a while), but these apps seem really well done.
MLB.tv is available in all countries where iTunes Movie Rentals are offered, specifically the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K. and Japan.
NBA League Pass on the Apple TV is available only in the United States. Although the NBA offers an International League Pass on its web site, this is different from the U.S. League Pass and cannot be used on the Apple TV—a U.S. League Pass account is required to login.
Together with the NBA and MLB.TV apps, a new redesigned keyboard with a “recent” option for quick input, new slideshows themes, time zone and HDMI output settings and the much-talked AirPlay support also made it into this update.
iOS 4.3 for Apple TV is a solid update. Check out the full roundup at iLounge.
Well, that didn’t take long. iOS 4.3 was released yesterday and here comes the first video, courtesy of Daily iPhone Blog, that shows a jailbroken iPad running an untethered 4.3 jailbreak with Cydia installed and working. Build is the final one, iOS 4.3 8F190 and the video looks legit.
We don’t know when a proper jailbreak tool for iOS 4.3 will be released but it looks more like “soon” at this point. Check out the video below. (more…)
Announced yesterday but not enabled until a few hours ago, the iPod app on iOS 4.3 got two new features: you can now “like” songs and “post” them to Ping directly from the iPod app on iOS 4.3. We’re not sure right now whether this feature only works with tracks and albums purchased from the iTunes Store or music that matches the exact information stored in iTunes servers (try it with your Amazon MP3s, and let us know if it works), but as it stands now Apple has definitely updated the iPod app remotely to integrate the Ping functionality. It wasn’t there yesterday, and there it is now (see screenshots).
To like or post a song, Make sure to be signed into Ping from the iOS iTunes app. Open the iPod app, tap the artwork to bring up the top toolbar and check out the Ping icons. One is to like a song, one is to post it. Both will show up in your Ping activity stream, also accessible from the iOS iTunes app.
Update: it looks like the Ping buttons only appear in tracks purchased from the iTunes Store.
With the final release of iOS 4.3 final yesterday, several readers asked us whether or not Apple pulled the multitasking gestures that had been implemented in developer betas of iOS 4.3. As we noted in January, multitasking gestures for iPad were only meant for testing purposes so developers could test the integration of gestures in their apps. The feature needed to be activated with Xcode.
We received word from several developers that the multitasking gestures can still be enabled in the final version of iOS 4.3 (build 8F190, same as GM), but you will need Xcode and an Apple Developer account to register the device for development and activate the gestures panel in the iOS Settings app. Again, the process takes less than a minute and you can find the instructions here.
The gestures in iOS 4.3 final are the same of earlier betas: four or five finger pinch to Home screen, swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar, swipe left or right to switch between apps. So if you have Xcode and a dev account, update your iPad to 4.3 final and you’ll still be able to activate gestures. [via RazorianFly]
Jeff Carlson at Tidbits has a great piece about many iPhone and iPad owners’ recent question: should your next iPad be a 3G one, or can you just use Personal Hotspot through your iPhone? In short: it depends on how much data you use and how many devices you could be able to connect to the Personal Hotspot. But overall, the hotspot functionality of iOS 4.3 sounds like a great plan if you already have an iPhone and know you’ll be doing a lot of iPad 3G surfing.
So, in the end, the Personal Hotspot approach will be cheaper for AT&T users who use lots of data, and more expensive for those who can stay within the lowest limits. And it’s exactly the reverse for Verizon Wireless users, for whom the Personal Hotspot approach is slightly better for lower bandwidth users, but more expensive once you go beyond 2 GB of data.
Personally, I’ve grown accustomed to having an Internet-connected iPad whenever I need it, whether that’s on a familiar Wi-Fi network or taking advantage of near-ubiquitous 3G coverage (in Seattle, where AT&T’s coverage is generally good). As for ease of use, the fact that the iPad remembers the iPhone’s network password, and that the iPhone switches into Personal Hotspot mode easily, leads me to think that adding the extra step of enabling the hotspot wouldn’t be onerous.
From my experience with 3 Italia’s network, I can say my next iPad is going to be a WiFi-only one. The setup is easy and the iPad remembers the Personal Hotspot password, plus you can leave the hotspot set to “on” even when you’re not using so you won’t have to re-enable every single time. The iPhone won’t consume battery and everything will be left as it is. Personal Hotspot is just too good for me to ever want a 3G iPad.
Code references found in the iOS 4.3 firmware for iPad 2 released (in three versions) earlier today suggest the upcoming iPhone 5 will use the same Apple A5 dual-core processor of the iPad 2. Several developers have, in fact, spotted references to a N94AP device in the code, and they’re assuming that’s the internal model number for the next-generation iPhone. The Verizon iPhone, for example, was labelled N92 internally.
Digging into the included N94AP kernel, developers have found out that it’s associated with S5L8940 — another codename, this time for the A5 chip. For this reason, speculation has mounted leading many to believe that the iPhone 5 will feature the same CPU we’re going to see in the iPad 2 later this week.
At this point it seems very likely that the new iPhone (to be released this summer) will carry a dual-core CPU for faster processing times and improved performances. Code references in iOS firmwares are usually a good and reliable indication of things to come, so we’re very confident the iPhone 5 will indeed get the A5. [via 9to5mac, iLounge, @chronic]
Apple just released iOS 4.3, available for iPhone (3GS, 4), iPod touch (3rd and 4th gen), iPad, iPad 2 and Apple TV. The new firmware is available for download in iTunes (check for updates) or through Apple’s website.
iOS 4.3 adds a number of new features such as Personal Hotspot for the iPhone, which allows users to share their 3G connection with other devices via WiFi, USB and Bluetooth; AirPlay support for Mobile Safari and third-party applications; improved Safari performances with the new Nitro engine and iTunes library streaming on a local network with Home Sharing.
On the iPad users now have the possibility to choose whether the side switch must act as a rotation lock or mute button, whilst iPhone owners can use Personal Hotspot’s tethering with up to three devices over WiFi, three devices over Bluetooth and one over USB connection.
Direct links below. Our full iOS 4.3 coverage here.
