Apple Releases iOS 4.3 Beta to Developers

Apple has released its iOS 4.3 beta to developers, unleashing numerous features to the later-gen iPod touches, iPads and iPhones. I said “later-gens” because Apple seems to have excluded older models from this update, so in order for it to be applied, third or fourth-gen models need to be used. Whether or not Apple will release a special update for the older models to introduce some of the functionality is yet to be seen.

Following the announcement that Verizon would be getting the iPhone, iOS 4.3 introduces the ability to use the “Personal Hotspot” feature which allows the device to act as a 3G hotspot for up to five devices. It’s unknown if all carriers will enable this feature on the phones they sell, but we can hope that’s the case. If it turns out that Verizon is the only carrier in the US to enable the feature, then AT&T subscribers might have a reason to be upset (as if a new reason was ever needed).

For developers, the API in iOS 4.3 allows for freer access to the hooks for AirPlay, allowing them to support their own apps rather than just the ones from Apple itself. Being that the iPhone tends to be a super locked-down system, this is a nice addition to see.

The iPad sees a couple of unique additions to this update, such as the ability to now use four or five fingers for gestures, allowing people to greater control over their device. And for those who just love ads, full-screen iAds have also been introduced, able to be implemented into certain apps.

iOS 4.3 doesn’t have a release date, but it is expected to likely show up within the next two months.

Also, new APIs in iOS 4.3 will allow developers to extend AirPlay support to their own apps instead of just the limited few from Apple. Accordingly, here is an iOS 4.3 update for Apple TV which supports the broader AirPlay rollout and allows developers to test AirPlay features. There’s no word if AirPlay has been extended to support device-to-Mac sharing or device-to-device sharing enabled by some recent software hacks from developer Erica Sadun, however.