iOS 4.3 beta reveals 3rd iPhone 4 and Verizon iPad

Further discoveries in the iOS 4.3 beta have revealed that Apple's fifth-generation iPhone and second-generation iPad will come in native editions for Verizon along with camera functions. Mirroring the iPhone 3,1 and 3,2 entries that represent the iPhone 4 for GSM and CDMA respectively, device listings now exist for iPhone 4,1 and iPhone 4,2 as well. The appearance suggests Apple plans to synchronize its iPhone launches rather than stagger GSM and CDMA by a wide margin.

Unusually, a third iPhone 4 variant (iPhone 3,3) has also appeared. The device may be a version for GSM carriers on 1,700MHz 3G in North America, most notably including T-Mobile in the US but also a slew of new Canadian carriers such as Wind Mobile, Videotron and Mobilicity. Without an iPhone 4,3 listed, though, it's possible that either the third iPhone 4 variant will never ship or else that its iPhone 5 equivalent will ship sometime later.

The next iPad is also on show in the code and shows the newly promised Verizon model. Along with Wi-Fi (iPad 2,1) and HSPA 3G (iPad 2,2) variants, an iPad 2,3 version has tipped up and is almost certainly an EVDO version to give CDMA carriers one with internal 3G.

LTE isn't expected in any iPad or iPhone model this year as the chipsets usually consume too much power. All of the LTE smartphones unveiled at CES have 4.3-inch or larger screens to give them enough room for an extra-large battery, which either isn't an option on the iPhone or would significantly reduce the battery life of the iPad.

Separately, discoveries in the iOS 4.3 SDK have shown iPad-sized graphics for a camera app. The images show the camera iris effect as well as icons for both still photo and video modes, confirming movie recording. The full iris image tops out at 1024x768 and casts doubt on rumors of a higher resolution display unless Apple is deliberately keeping higher resolution graphics out of beta releases to avoid spoiling plans. [via Engadget and 9to5Mac]

By Electronista Staff