iOS 4.3 to Launch in December 13?

Apple is reportedly targeting mid-December for iOS 4.3 release and bring along something called “app subscriptions”. Apple and News Corp are currently working together to launch a tablet-focused news product, with John Gruber suggest that Apple is planning for a December 9th media event to introduce the new feature.

MacStories's being tipped from a reliable source that iOS 4.2.1 was delayed and released after its released date. Anyway, before the WiFi issues were discovered, Apple was already planning to release a new build of iOS 4.x in mid-December. Most specifically, they were planning for an iOS 4.3 release on December 13th, which is a Monday.

Here’s what we heard from a reliable source: when Apple didn’t know about the WiFi issues in the GM seed of iOS 4.2, the OS was scheduled to be released weeks before Nov. 22nd. Apple found out about the WiFi issues, released a second GM build and iOS 4.2 came out yesterday. It came out in November, but it should have been out in the first half of November. Anyway, before the WiFi issues were discovered, Apple was already planning to release a new build of iOS 4.x in mid-December. Most specifically, they were planning for an iOS 4.3 release on December 13th, which is a Monday.

Our source tells us it is unclear whether the “extra time” that was required to ship iOS 4.2 (actually, it’s iOS 4.2.1) will cause a delay for the rumored release of iOS 4.3 on December 13th or not. iOS 4.3 should, however, include bug fixes and maintenance of the code. It’s likely that 4.3 will also address the initial issues found in AirPlay, but we can’t confirm this just yet.

The source indicates that iOS 4.3 will bring the new subscription functionality needed for The Daily, with a possibility of more substantial cloud-based services coming at the same time. We'll be covering this, stay tuned!
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