Report: iOS 4.3 To Be Released December 13th

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iOS 4.2.1 was just released, but already the rumor mill is churning about iOS 4.3… and it looks like it might arrive before the end of the year, much earlier than anyone had previously thought.

According to sources, Apple plans on releasing iOS 4.3 on Monday, December 13th… just three weeks after the debut of iOS 4.2.1.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way: Apple originally planned on there being a month gap between iOS 4.2 and iOS 4.3, but the WiFi issues found in the Gold Master build of iOS 4.2 forced Apple to delay the release until this past Monday.

What’s new in iOS 4.3? MacStories says that it’s mostly a release meant to push iTunes’ new app subscription services, which will pave the way for News Corp’s upcoming iPad-only newspaper, the Daily. The Daily is rumored to be announced by Steve Jobs at an event held on December 9th, so the 13th is the following Monday.

Given the limited support for AirPrint in iOS 4.2.1 and Snow Leopard 10.6.5, it’s also reasonable to expect that iOS 4.3 will expand AirPrint’s compatibility with various printers, which Steve Jobs has said will be coming soon.

My guess is that the only reason AirPrint shipped in the state it was in was because Apple already knew, a month later, they’d have the chance to get it right. Maybe that’s the reason iOS 4.2.1’s jailbreak holes haven’t been closed either?

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