By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 01:35 PM EST (10:35 AM PST)
Though Apple said last week that the iOS 4.3 update would become available this Friday, new evidence points to an early release on Wednesday for existing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users.
Jim Dalrymple at
The Loop reported Tuesday that Apple is likely to issue an early release of iOS 4.3. Though the company
initially said the update will arrive this Friday, March 11, alongside the iPad 2, it is now expected to arrive around its usual time of 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday -- two days early.
The Golden Master, or presumed final build, of iOS 4.3 was issued to developers
last Thursday. It features browser JavaScript performance that is
two times faster, as well as support for
iTunes Home Sharing and
Personal Hotspot for tethering to share a 3G data connection over Wi-Fi.
iOS 4.3 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third- and fourth-generation iPod touch, first-generation iPad, and the forthcoming iPad 2. It will not arrive this week for the CDMA Verizon iPhone 4, which has a
different baseband chip than the GSM model.
Dalrymple's report was filed in contrast to an earlier story from
Boy Genius Report, which claimed that Apple would instead release iOS 4.3 on Tuesday.
BGR has issued a number of Apple-related reports of late that have missed the mark, including a claim that the iPad 2 could be released this year without a
physical home button. The site also incorrectly reported in February that Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup would have
solid-state boot drives and larger multi-touch trackpads.
Last summer, the site also claimed that the launch of a cloud-based iTunes music streaming service was imminent, though the report was
quickly refuted. While its track record with Apple-related rumors has been poor -- including reports of
Blu-ray support in iTunes and the reprinting of a
faked e-mail conversation claimed to be with Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs -- the site does frequently publish accurate documents and photos related to U.S. wireless carriers.
