Tuesday, March 08, 2011, 01:35 pm

Early Wednesday release expected for Apple's iOS 4.3 iPhone, iPad update

By AppleInsider Staff

Though Apple said last week that the iOS 4.3 update would become available this Friday, new evidence points to an early release on Wednesday for existing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users.

Jim Dalrymple at The Loop reported Tuesday that Apple is likely to issue an early release of iOS 4.3. Though the company initially said the update will arrive this Friday, March 11, alongside the iPad 2, it is now expected to arrive around its usual time of 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday -- two days early.

The Golden Master, or presumed final build, of iOS 4.3 was issued to developers last Thursday. It features browser JavaScript performance that is two times faster, as well as support for iTunes Home Sharing and Personal Hotspot for tethering to share a 3G data connection over Wi-Fi.

iOS 4.3 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third- and fourth-generation iPod touch, first-generation iPad, and the forthcoming iPad 2. It will not arrive this week for the CDMA Verizon iPhone 4, which has a different baseband chip than the GSM model.

Dalrymple's report was filed in contrast to an earlier story from Boy Genius Report, which claimed that Apple would instead release iOS 4.3 on Tuesday.

BGR has issued a number of Apple-related reports of late that have missed the mark, including a claim that the iPad 2 could be released this year without a physical home button. The site also incorrectly reported in February that Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup would have solid-state boot drives and larger multi-touch trackpads.

Last summer, the site also claimed that the launch of a cloud-based iTunes music streaming service was imminent, though the report was quickly refuted. While its track record with Apple-related rumors has been poor -- including reports of Blu-ray support in iTunes and the reprinting of a faked e-mail conversation claimed to be with Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs -- the site does frequently publish accurate documents and photos related to U.S. wireless carriers.