Will Apple Release iOS 4 for the iPad on September 1?
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We reported yesterday that Apple has scheduled a special media event for September 1. While the exact details of what will be announced are still a closely guarded secret, most experts speculate that Apple will roll out their latest lineup of iPods and if you’re an Apple follower, you might also be asking yourself if this could be the date it releases iOS 4 for the iPad?
During Apple’s most recent special event this past April, Steve Jobs informed the audience that they “we’re bringing iPhone OS4 to the iPad this Fall.” Fall doesn’t officially kick off until September 22, but could Jobs pull his now famous “one more thing” routine at the end of next week’s event?
The iPad’s internals match the iPhone 4′s very closely. Both use an A4 processor and include many of the same sub components. The iPad’s large display can easily match the iPhone’s Retina display so there shouldn’t be an issue with screen resolution matching. With both devices sharing many of the same specs, one could assume that getting iOS 4 on the iPad would be a very straight forward exercise for Apple’s bright engineering team and an earlier release date certainly seems like it would be technically feasible.
One reason for the longer wait in getting iOS 4 on the iPad could have more to do Apple potentially introducing all new functionality beyond the current iOS 4. During Job’s keynote, he stated with the release of iOS 4 for the iPhone that they would also have “all these features on the iPad.” But what about a few new features? Rumors indicate Apple might add new iPad specific features into the new OS. Some have speculated that iOS 4 for iPad would have better multitasking and include FaceTime support with the addition of an external camera or dock. Additionally, improvements in running iPhone 4 applications on the iPad would allow developers to more build universal applications that could easily be run on the iPhone 4 or iPad’s higher resolution screens.
So, it seems completely possible that Apple could announce iOS 4 SDK for iPad as early as next week. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that Apple has delivered something unexpected during one of their special events.
