iOS 4.3 Software Update
Along with iPad 2, Apple announced iOS 4.3 with be coming to an iDevice near you on Friday March 11th.
More free cool software is always a bonus and so I thought the biggest feature in iOS 4.3 for me would be iTunes home sharing. I got extremely excited on hearing it would be arriving on my iPhone 4. Why? Well this is how the iTunes page describes home sharing.
Browse iTunes libraries on up to five authorised computers on your home network and import whatever you like. You can also automatically import new purchases made on any of the computers.
I make use of this feature a lot with my iMac and MacBook Pro. Any purchases I make on my MacBook Pro are instantly copied over to my iMac and consequently backed up. It’s an excellent feature and brings a lot of peace of mind that my iTunes purchases are backed up. In typical Apple fashion I don’t have to think about it.
So when Engadget informed me that iOS 4.3 was to bring home sharing to my iPhone I jumped for joy((Well lifted my arm up and said yes!)). The prospect of being able to wirelessly transfer my iTunes purchases from my iPhone to my other Macs without having to remember to plug it in is just what the doctor ordered. I envisaged a moment where I wouldn’t be caught out by forgetting to sync to get my latest Podcasts. That is, until the iOS 4.3 page shattered my dreams.
Now you can play your entire iTunes library from anywhere in the house. If it’s on your Mac or PC, you can play it on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch over a shared Wi-Fi network.3 And not just music. Watch a film or TV programme. Play a podcast. Or listen to an audiobook. On whichever device you want — without having to download or sync.
It seems I’ll only be able to stream from my Macs and not have my Podcasts automatically transfer to my iPhone once downloaded. This makes me sad.
Aside from my disappointment in home sharing, I’m still looking forward to AirPlay becoming what I always hoped it would be and Personal Hotspot arriving for everyone.