iOS 4.3 Released to Developers

Apple has released iOS 4.3 beta 1 to developers indicating that the latest update isn’t too far away now.

A number of new features and several changes can be found in the new iOS which includes the ability to create a personal hotspot, just like the Verizon iPhone has the ability to do.

Another one of the big changes which follows on from the last post reveals that those running iOS 4.3 on the iPad will now have multi-touch gestures available that allow you to use 4 or 5 fingers on the screen in a pinching motion which in turn, jumps you back to the Home Screen. When swiping up, you’ll see the multitasking bar and when swiping across either way, you’ll swipe between apps.

Apple release beta versions of iOS to developers for a few reasons. First, it allows more people to test the OS and track down bugs before it’s released. Second, it lets developers prepare apps to use the new features.

A list of other items (included the ones lifted above) include…

* Personal hotspot capabilities for GSM devices — as we exclusively reported earlier today
* AirPlay support for third-party native apps and third-party Web apps
* Redesigned FaceTime icon
* Multi-touch gesture support for iPad — “This beta release contains a preview of new Multi-Touch gestures for iPad. You can use four or five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen; swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar; and swipe left or right between apps. We are providing this preview before releasing them to the public to understand how these gestures work with your apps.”
* Configurable slide switch for iPad — users can now decide whether the hardware switch above the volume rocker on the iPad controls mute or rotation lock
* iAd full screen banners on the iPad — bigger ads… just what iPad users have been clamoring for

We also learn from BGR that the second gen iPhone (3G) and the second gen iPod touch look unlikely to get iOS 4.3. We suspect this is because the iPhone 3G had a number of speed issues with iOS 4 which were pretty much fixed in the 4.2 build. Apple will likely just keep them at 4.2 to avoid performance issues in the future. Touchy point we understand though.