Apple iOS 4.3 coming March 11 with iPad 2, includes new AirPlay features and FaceTime

Along with the iPad 2, Apple's releasing the final version of iOS 4.3, which features the Nitro Javscript engine from Safari on OS X, new iTunes Home Sharing features, and the updated suite of AirPlay features from the betas -- including the ability for App Store apps to share audio and video. Apple's also finalizing the new option that lets you assign the side switch to either rotation lock or mute, and it's adding Personal Hotspot support. There's also those rumored iOS versions of Photo Booth and FaceTime for the new cameras. It'll be a free download for all iPads, the GSM iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS and the third- and fourth-gen iPod touch when it's released on March 11. When will it hit the Verizon iPhone 4? We don't know yet.

Developing...

Gallery: iOS 4.3 revealed

Developing... for the latest coverage of Apple's iPad 2 launch event, see our liveblog.

Apple iOS 4.3 coming March 11 with iPad 2, includes new AirPlay features and FaceTime originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 4.3 beta 2 released, iPad multitasking gestures just a developer preview

Apple just dropped iOS 4.3 beta 2 on world, and with it a big sad bomb: those nifty iPad multitasking gestures we discovered in beta 1 won't be enabled when 4.3 ships to customers. Instead, Cupertino says it's "providing this preview to gather input on how these gestures work with your apps," Oh well -- there's always 4.4, or even iOS 5, we suppose. We're on the lookout for other new features, but for now let us know what else you spot in comments, okay?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iOS 4.3 beta 2 released, iPad multitasking gestures just a developer preview originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple turns in record Q1: $6b profit on $26.7b revenue, 16.2m iPhones sold

Continue reading Apple turns in record Q1: $6b profit on $26.7b revenue, 16.2m iPhones sold

Apple turns in record Q1: $6b profit on $26.7b revenue, 16.2m iPhones sold originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!)

We'd been disappointed to find that iOS 4.2 only brought AirPlay video support to built-in Apple apps on the iPhone and iPad, but it looks like that's changing soon -- Apple just posted up the first iOS 4.3 beta, which allows devs to send video from apps or websites to an Apple TV. There's also a new beta of the Apple TV software for testing it out -- it doesn't have any version notes, so we don't know if it offers any additional features as well.

There are quite a few new features included in 4.3: personal hotspot is indeed included on the iPhone, although it needs to be enabled on the carrier side to work, and the iPad's side switch can now be set back to being an orientation lock, which should make a lot of people very happy. The iPad also gains some multitouch multitasking gestures, which are pretty interesting, actually: 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're also seeing a new FaceTime icon on the iPod touch, which is nice, and 9to5 Mac noticed that the iPad now supports fullscreen iAd banners, which is less nice. Check after the break for a quick video of the iPad gestures.

Update: The Photos app has also gained new AirPlay functionality for photos and videos, and there's a slightly tweaked camera shutter sound, as well as bigger app icons in the App Store's Update menu.

[Thanks, Matt and Brian]

Continue reading iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!)

iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T ‘evaluating’ support for iOS Personal Hotspot, no plans yet

Although you'd think AT&T would be all over the Verizon iPhone's new personal hotspot feature if only just to keep feature parity with its biggest competitor, the carrier is taking a more measured approach -- an AT&T spokesperson just told us that they're "evaluating the feature, but have no plans to announce at this time." Given that the iOS 4.3 beta just brought hotspot support to the GSM iPhone, we're guessing that the holdup is more tactical than technical -- Verizon still hasn't announced its iPhone data plan pricing or hotspot tax, and we're assuming AT&T's just waiting for some numbers before announcing support sometime around, say, February 10th. We'll see.

P.S.- We're also thinking it would be sweet it AT&T supported WiFi hotspot with 3G iPad and its contract-free data plans, but we're just wishing one wish at a time here.

AT&T 'evaluating' support for iOS Personal Hotspot, no plans yet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon iPhone has relocated buttons, might require new cases

The leaks suggested that the Verizon iPhone would have have slightly relocated buttons, and it's true -- as you can see in the photo above, the newly revised CDMA antenna notch has pushed the volume and mute controls down a hair from GSM version. That means a lot of cases -- Apple's current bumpers included -- won't fit properly on the Verizon version, although many third-party cases feature an open slot for the buttons that might still work. Either way, we'd bet Apple and third-party manufacturers are scrambling to have compatible cases in stores before the February 10th launch date -- just make sure to check yours first if you're switching from AT&T.

Verizon iPhone has relocated buttons, might require new cases originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T: ‘We are much bigger than’ iPhone exclusivity

We're expecting to see the Verizon iPhone finally make its debut in just about a half hour now, but it looks like AT&T is doing some pre-show damage control -- in an interview with the Wall Street Journal this morning, Ralph de la Vega said "we're ready" to lose exclusivity because "we are much bigger than this." That definitely sounds like someone just got spurned by their biggest partner, but don't think AT&T's just going to ignore Verizon -- it's planning an ad blitz that will highlight the iPhone's better data speeds and simultaneous voice / data capabilities when used on its network. Sounds like things are going to get even more heated between the two largest carriers -- and honestly, we can't wait.

AT&T: 'We are much bigger than' iPhone exclusivity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wall Street Journal: Verizon to announce iPhone on Tuesday

Well, here we are: the Wall Street Journal says Verizon will indeed announce the iPhone at its mysterious Tuesday event, according to "a source familiar with the matter." That's all the info the Journal has, but we'd say that all but seals it at this point -- and you know we'll be there live when it happens.

P.S. And just like that, Apple's managed to once again be one of the biggest stories at CES with zero presence here. That's what, five years in a row now?

Wall Street Journal: Verizon to announce iPhone on Tuesday originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iHome iA63 motorized spinning iPhone alarm clock hands-on

In addition to its slick new AirPlay speaker systems, iHome's here at CES with its usual array of iPhone alarm clocks -- and the craziest by far is the new iA63, which offers a crazy motorized dock that pivots your phone from portrait to landscape at the touch of a button. Why you'd be watching anything from an iPhone from so far away that you couldn't spin things yourself is an open question, but hey -- for a list price of $99 we'll take all the extra motors we can get. Video after the break.

Continue reading iHome iA63 motorized spinning iPhone alarm clock hands-on

iHome iA63 motorized spinning iPhone alarm clock hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mini Cooper Connected with Pandora drive-on

Pandora founder and chief strategy officer Tim Westergren just rolled up to our CES trailer in the new Mini Cooper Countryman with Mini Connected, which features integration with Pandora's iOS app when an IPhone is plugged in. Once you plug the phone in and switch to the app, Connected takes over and you navigate and control Pandora using the Mini's rotary jog dial -- BMW doesn't want you to mess with the phone while driving, so the iPhone essentially serves as a 3G modem. The Connected interface is quite clean -- it's definitely more user-friendly than the BMW iDrive system from whence it sprang -- and we were jamming along to 32Kbps Pandora streams in no time. That's a little better than FM quality, and the Pandora app does a little buffering so any gaps or blips in signal are smoothed over. Phone calls are handled by the Mini's Bluetooth system, so Pandora fades out when a call comes in, and fades back in when you hang up. It's definitely slick -- and Pandora is actually just the first Connected app to launch, with more iOS apps from Mini's partners due to come in the future. Video and PR after the break.

Continue reading Mini Cooper Connected with Pandora drive-on

Mini Cooper Connected with Pandora drive-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iHome iW1 AirPlay wireless speaker hands-on

We've been dying to play with a third-party AirPlay speaker system ever since Apple opened the tech up, and iHome was happy to oblige here at CES with the new iW1. The wireless speaker system features two three-inch woofers and two one-inch tweeters with Bongiovi audio processing, a built-in lithium-ion battery with a grab-and-go charging base, and capacitive touch controls -- and, just as we suspected, AirPlay compatibility courtesy of BridgeCo. iHome's also developed a new iOS configuration app called iHome Connect that'll help you get the iW1 on your WiFi network quickly, although regular WPS setup is also supported. You can also charge your iPhone or iPod by plugging into the USB port in the back -- iHome is packing a cable in the box.

Streaming from iOS was just as simple as with the Apple TV or Airport Express, and we only saw minimal lag between control inputs like volume and track changes, just as with an all-Apple setup. Interestingly, iOS only supports point-to-point AirPlay streaming right now, so you can only use a single speaker at a time, but if you're streaming from iTunes you can hit multiple speakers at once, regardless of vendor. iHome is still tuning the audio performance, so we'll reserve judgment on that until we get a review unit -- which should happen when this guy ships for $300 in March. Video after the break.

Continue reading iHome iW1 AirPlay wireless speaker hands-on

iHome iW1 AirPlay wireless speaker hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tweaked iPhone 4 parts video pulled from YouTube ‘due to a copyright claim from Apple, Inc.’

There's not much more to say here -- that crazy video we saw earlier today of what appeared to be tweaked iPhone 4 parts has been pulled from YouTube "due to a copyright claim by Apple, Inc." Obviously we still have the screenshot above, which tells the whole story, really -- these parts point to a variant of the iPhone that's the same, but different. Exactly why it's different is still up for debate -- the CDMA iPhone for Verizon is obviously everyone's first guess, but until Steve speaks we won't know for sure.

P.S.- We suppose it's also possible that Apple wasn't actually responsible for the removal -- someone could have punked YouTube's copyright cops, and there is that odd double-period typo after "Inc." But that seems like someone's playing a particularly insane game, no?

Continue reading Tweaked iPhone 4 parts video pulled from YouTube 'due to a copyright claim from Apple, Inc.'

Tweaked iPhone 4 parts video pulled from YouTube 'due to a copyright claim from Apple, Inc.' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JBL’s AirPlay-enabled On Air Wireless speaker dock hits the FCC

JBL was one of the first companies besides iHome and Denon / Marantz to announce support for Apple's AirPlay technology, so it's no surprise that the company's On Air Wireless speaker dock just hit the FCC, complete with its manual -- we've been hearing that AirPlay will be all over the place at CES 2011. The On Air Wireless seems like a fancier riff on JBL's On Air line of speaker docks and alarm clocks -- it features that familiar swoopy-loop design but adds in a large color LCD display that displays album artwork while streaming music. Looking at the manual, the display also makes WiFi setup and configuration a little easier, which is nice. All in all, it looks promising, but we'll see what price and availability looks like when we get to CES.

JBL's AirPlay-enabled On Air Wireless speaker dock hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peel turns your iPhone into a universal remote — using a wireless external IR blaster

The idea of using an iPhone or iPod touch as a universal remote has been tossed around for years, but it's always required either a finicky external dongle or an extravagantly expensive home automation rig. Instead, we've been treated to a host of single-device remote apps for everything from FiOS, DirecTV, Comcast, and Dish Network DVRs to the Apple TV to the Boxee Box to... well, you name it. A little company called Peel has a dramatically different idea, though -- it's launching the Peel Universal Control system, which is designed to take your iPhone or iPod touch head-to-head with universal remote heavyweights like Logitech's Harmony system.

The company is made up of a bunch of former Apple engineers, and their solution is extremely novel: instead of attaching a dongle to the iPhone itself, they're controlling your A/V rack using a pear-sized (and Yves Behar-designed) wireless IR blaster that's supposed to live quietly on your coffee table. The blaster (called the Peel Fruit) connects over ZigBee to a tiny network adapter (the Peel Cable, also designed by Behar) that attaches directly to an open Ethernet port on your WiFi router -- a two-part hardware setup that seems fussy, but is designed to obviate the need for software configuration during installation, and allows the IR blaster to run for nine months on a single C battery.

Continue reading Peel turns your iPhone into a universal remote -- using a wireless external IR blaster

Peel turns your iPhone into a universal remote -- using a wireless external IR blaster originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ThinkGeek TK-421 iPhone keyboard case review

We've been eagerly waiting for iPhone cases with built-in keyboards to hit ever since iOS 4 added Bluetooth keyboard support, but they simply haven't materialized like we'd hoped -- in fact, ThinkGeek's TK-421 case is the first to hit the market, nearly eight months after iOS 4 was first announced. Now that it's finally here, we've got to ask -- is this thing the ultimate iPhone accessory? Does the iPhone actually need a keyboard? Does flipping open automatically make something awesome? Read on to find out.

Continue reading ThinkGeek TK-421 iPhone keyboard case review

ThinkGeek TK-421 iPhone keyboard case review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exclusive: Woz misquoted! ‘Almost every app that I have is better on the iPhone’

Some comments attributed to Steve Wozniak caused quite a kerfuffle this morning -- according to Dutch paper De Telegraaf, Woz said that "Android phones have more features," which would help Google's OS become the dominant smartphone platform. Obviously, a statement like that from Apple's co-founder rocketed around the web, and it's set off yet another round of furious Android-vs-iOS debate. There's just one problem, though: Woz never said anything like that. Turns out Woz is an Engadget commenter just like you, and when we saw that he'd left a clarification on the post, we called him up for a quick chat to sort everything out.

Woz says he gave the De Telegraaf reporter a lengthy demonstration of voice commands on iOS and Android, pointed out that Android offered the ability to say "Navigate to Joe's Diner," and suggested that Apple would catch up through its purchases of Siri and Poly9. According to Steve, that's about it -- he says he'd "never" say that Android was better than iOS, and that "Almost every app I have is better on the iPhone." Woz did say he lightly prognosticated that Android would become more popular "based on what I've read," but that he expects Android "to be a lot like Windows... I'm not trying to put Android down, but I'm not suggesting it's better than iOS by any stretch of the imagination. But it can get greater marketshare and still be crappy." He's not shy, that Woz -- listen to him say it all for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Exclusive: Woz misquoted! 'Almost every app that I have is better on the iPhone'

Exclusive: Woz misquoted! 'Almost every app that I have is better on the iPhone' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iHome’s iW1 AirPlay dock gets detailed

We're all expecting iOS 4.2 to hit sometime this week and bring AirPlay streaming with it, and it looks like iHome is getting prepared -- the company just updated its AirPlay speaker dock page with more info. The iW1, as it's been named, is much slicker than its minimalist looks would suggest: the portable speaker system features a built-in lithium-ion battery with an inductive charging base so you can just grab and go, Bongiovi Accoustics audio, capacitive touch controls and support for iHome's iOS configuration apps, and a USB port for charging and local audio playback. Oh, and it can stream music from iOS devices and iTunes using AirPlay, of course. Sadly, there's still no price or ship date, but if this thing is priced anywhere close to earth we'd say the Sonos S5 has got itself some serious competition.

iHome's iW1 AirPlay dock gets detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VLC for iPhone and iPad soon to disappear thanks to GPL complaints — go get it now

There's always been tension between Apple's tight control of the iOS App Store and the DRM-free license requirements of the GPL, and it seems like things are coming to a head over VLC, the open-source video player. As you'll recall, VLC was just released for the iPad and iPhone in the past few months, but the port was done by a company called Applidium -- not VLC developer VideoLAN, which holds the copyright and licenses the code under the GPL. VideoLAN now says that since VLC for iOS includes Apple's FairPlay DRM, it's in violation of the GPL and must be pulled -- and that "concerned users are advised to look for applications on more open mobile platforms for the time being." That's certainly fair enough, although we do find it a bit sensationalist that the takedown notice was sent to Apple and not Applidium, since it's technically Applidium that violated the GPL. Then again, the statement was written by VideoLAN developer Rémi Deni-Courmont, who is also senior MeeGo software engineer, so we can see why he'd be interested in promoting a "more open" project. Whatever the case, it doesn't seem like VLC for iOS is not long for this world -- you'd best go grab it as quickly as possible. Like, now.

VLC for iPhone and iPad soon to disappear thanks to GPL complaints -- go get it now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Remote app 2.0 adds support for new Apple TV, iPad

No surprises here, but Apple's just released version 2.0 of the Remote app for iPhone and iPad, which adds in support for the new iOS-based Apple TV in addition to iTunes on OS X. The interface is mostly the same -- a trackpad-like screen for ATV remote control and an iPod-like interface for more direct media playback -- but it's now optimized for the Retina display on the iPhone 4 and the larger screen size of the iPad. Since the new Apple TV is streaming-only, Remote also now has better support for controlling shared music libraries, making remote control of iTunes on your HTPC slightly easier as well. It's available now and it's free, so go grab it.

Apple Remote app 2.0 adds support for new Apple TV, iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines: ‘we don’t need any more fart apps’

Apple definitely surprised us this morning by relaxing its restrictions on third-party iOS development tools and publishing its app review guidelines, but that's nothing compared to the almost shockingly blunt tone of the guidelines themselves. Grab the PDF for yourselves at the source link now and check out the highlights after the break.

Continue reading Apple's App Store Review Guidelines: 'we don't need any more fart apps'

Apple's App Store Review Guidelines: 'we don't need any more fart apps' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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