

Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch - ukdm
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/11/22ios.html

======
thorax
I can't be the only one who uses the iPad's orientation lock button
frequently... The very impractical decision to transform it to a mute button
is enough of a frustration that it will be a good while before I can convince
myself to upgrade to an otherwise compelling release.

~~~
gamble
I think they made the right decision. The orientation lock is still available
on the task switching bar, which is a better place for it since there's no
need to lock orientation unless the iPad is already unlocked and in use. The
problem with the current 'hold volume down to mute' is that you can't mute
without unlocking the iPad first... which makes a noise. It's also
inconsistent with the iPhone.

~~~
sudont
At the Genius Bar on Saturday (free out-of-warranty repair, to boot) the chick
who was doing the sign-in on an iPad used the orientation lock about four
times while she checked in the lady ahead of me and myself. I'd say that an
orientation-aware app used on a public floor would be extremely needy for this
sort of hardware lock.

It's not typical usage, however.

------
jeroen
Improvements for iPhone:

\- AirPlay

\- The Find My iPhone feature is now free to use without a MobileMe℠
subscription

\- AirPrint ("a next-generation Wi-Fi print architecture that dramatically
simplifies printing by completely eliminating printer drivers") (thanks, rufo)

The free Find feature is only for "iPhone 4, iPad or new iPod touch (4th
generation)"

~~~
tibbon
I wonder why the free Find feature is only for the newest devices? Most of the
time Apple is pretty good about only locking devices out if their hardware
can't handle it. The 3GS should be able to handle it, right?

~~~
gamble
The 3G never got the percentage battery meter or iOS 4 folders. There may be
times when it's a hardware limitation, but it often feels like an attempt to
nudge you toward an upgrade.

~~~
rimantas
Actually 3G got folders with iOS4.

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swannodette
Hurrah WebSockets in Mobile Safari now works!!! I'm testing now on my iPad w/
Clojure+Aleph as the backend (all 14 lines of it,
<https://gist.github.com/710453>). Evidence:
[http://a6.video3.blip.tv/0210004346955/Dnolen-
WebSocketSuppo...](http://a6.video3.blip.tv/0210004346955/Dnolen-
WebSocketSupportInIPad42656.MOV)

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marknutter
And with that the value of my iPad just jumped $100 or so. This one has been a
long time coming..

~~~
jswinghammer
Seriously. I have needed folders for months now.

~~~
marknutter
For me the biggy has been lack of multitasking. It's so annoying to open a
link in a new tab, only to come back and have safari reload the entire page I
was just on. It's like the iPad's browser has Alzheimer's.

~~~
mitjak
I wouldn't get too excited. With only 256MB of RAM, it's still going to happen
on the iPad :/

~~~
marknutter
Having just tested it, I'm happy to report you're wrong.

~~~
mitjak
Wait until you have more apps running..

~~~
marknutter
Nope. No issues. I'm betting safari gets priority.

------
mclin
I actually dislike it when this happens because I have to download the ~2.5GB
dev kit again on my crappy connection before I can publish again. Or am I
doing it wrong?

Note: posted in other thread, but this one looks like it'll be the one.

~~~
rbritton
It's worse. The download is 3.5 GB now, and it does not include any previous
SDKs. Every project file you have has to be switched over to the current SDK
to even compile.

~~~
xenophanes
Why can't they leave in the old versions? It'd be nice to use the simulator
for various versions...

~~~
hamedh
Apple has started to leave the iPad simulator for 3.2 and the iPhone
simulators for 4.0 and 4.1 ... but I agree I never understood this either.
It's almost impossible to test for devices running 3.1.3 without having an old
extra device that has not been upgraded

~~~
npsomaratna
I know - we made the mistake of the setting the target platform to iOS 3.1 but
only ended up testing it under iOs 4.0 devices - simply because no-one seemed
to use iOS 3.1.

Wrong !

Although 93.6% of our users use iOs4, the other 6% were pissed off when they
found out that the app crashed on iOS 3.1

The icing on the cake ? After the app crashed, the users deleted it - and were
prompted to rate it. I'm sure that you can imagine the rest.

Thank god that the 'rate on delete' feature was removed from iOS4 - although
that is scant consolation.

------
swannodette
Particularly excited that WebSockets may have made it into Mobile Safari.

~~~
steilpass
Is there a list of Safari's iOS 4.2 features?

~~~
steilpass
Not sure if I'm looking at the right direction but the Safari Reference
Library is not showing any updates:
[http://developer.apple.com/library/safari/navigation/index.h...](http://developer.apple.com/library/safari/navigation/index.html)

~~~
steilpass
See this thread: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1932107>

------
jipumarino
For me, CoreMIDI is the most expected feature… [http://synth.me/music-
gear/apple-announces-native-midi-suppo...](http://synth.me/music-gear/apple-
announces-native-midi-support-ios-42)

~~~
daeken
Oh man, now I want to go pick up an iPad and spend a month writing a bunch of
DSP code for CoreMIDI. Damn you Apple!

------
_stephan
Has anyone tried iOS 4.2 on the iPhone 3G and could comment on the
performance?

~~~
derefr
I updated my 3G to the GM seed a week ago. So far, the only things I have
noticed are icon tweaks in Safari, and the fact that textareas now don't lag
quite as badly when they aren't getting a bloom-filter hit on what you've
typed so far (I.e. Words not in dictionary/misspellings.) Oddly enough, the 3G
doesn't even get the new set of SMS chimes.

------
ludwigvan
This is the first release common to iOS devices.

~~~
moxiemk1
Unless you include AppleTV, which today is getting an iOS 4.1 update
<http://www.macworld.com/article/155879/2010/11/appletv.html>

~~~
tmgrhm
The tv isn't getting iOS 4.1, even though it technically runs iOS. It's
simply getting version 4.1 of its own firmware.

------
maguay
Looks like someone messed up the screenshots ... the iOS 4 page is showing a
background picture on the 2nd Gen iPod touch - <http://d.pr/bs6s>.

By the way, the actual page about iOS has been updated with 4.2 info:
<http://www.apple.com/ios/>

------
eddanger
Timed perfectly with my Birthday, Apple you never cease to amaze me!

~~~
kylec
Happy birthday!

------
pavs
Question. I haven't used a Printer for a while so I don't know much about
printers, but wasn't it possible to print from wi-fi for quite some time now?
Or is it really a "next-generation print architecture" as Apple like to call
it.

~~~
FluidDjango
Here's the part that _sounds_ like a break-through convenience to me:

>a next-generation Wi-Fi print architecture that dramatically

>simplifies printing by completely eliminating printer drivers

~~~
smackfu
That seems pretty silly. You can't eliminate drivers -- something has to talk
to the hardware -- you can just standardize them.

~~~
jamesaguilar
What sounds better to a potential customer: "This technology eliminates the
need for dealing with printer drivers" or "This technology standardizes
printer drivers?" If I'm the salesman, I'm going to go with the former. It's
not even really a falsehood from the perspective of someone who would have to
install the drivers.

~~~
jasonlotito
It's a falsehood when you leave out the part where it only works with very
specific printers that support your new driver.

~~~
jamesaguilar
Since that part was not left out, I don't see what the problem is.

~~~
gloob
I'm not particularly interested in debating the honesty or lack thereof of the
advertising. I just want to say that I'm glad that Apple's innovations will
allow us to leave behind the old world where you had to either desperately
hope the printer would work with you or fight with drivers, and enter a brave
new world where you have to either desperately hope the printer will work for
you or fight with drivers.

------
DanHulton
Hrm. What benefit does this bring to iPhone and iPod touch users? I don't
really see any.

It seems largely like an iPad release, but they're updating the version
numbers for everyone.

~~~
d_r
Now-free "Find My iPhone" sounds like a huge value add.

~~~
nexact
Free for iPhone 4 only ... iPhone 3GS users will have to buy MobileMe
services.

------
glhaynes
An update is also expected for Apple TV to allow AirPlay video streaming from
iOS and iTunes. Without the update you can only stream audio.

------
cstross
Not available as of 14:14 here in the UK (on GMT).

(Bloody Californians think their time zone is the centre of the universe.
Grump.)

~~~
cstuder
According to MacWorld, the exact release time is 10am Pacific Standard (Which
would be 1800 GMT and still be within the time interval 'today'.)

Patience.

~~~
dalore
The sun has usually set by 1800 GMT, especially this late in the year, so
technically it's tonight.

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amccloud
Not till 10AM PST.

------
marckremers
Is it just me or this not actually available yet? I'm in UK and it still says
I'm up to date on the iOS 3.2.2 :-/

------
ulrich
That means you can finally ship 4.x-apps without losing all the iPad owners as
potential customers.

------
riobard
Good news everyone: embedding TrueType/OpenType fonts works in iOS 4.2 Mobile
Safari too!

------
loewenskind
I hope this fixes Calendar syncing on iPad over MobileMe.

~~~
jbjohns
It does. I've got it now, seems very nice so far.

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geuis
Direct download, if interested
[http://appldnld.apple.com/iPad/061-9857.20101122.VGthy/iPad1...](http://appldnld.apple.com/iPad/061-9857.20101122.VGthy/iPad1,1_4.2.1_8C148_Restore.ipsw)

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Isamu
So can you use Airprint to access a shared printer connected to your Mac?

~~~
callumjones
Only to devices that support AirPrint (expensive HP printers) or there are $10
apps for OS X that run as AirPrint servers.

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siculars
Any word on how slow this will make an iphone 3g? I'm still at 3.1.3...

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philfreo
Does this update add a front-facing camera to the iPad? ;)

