What’s new (and gorgeous) in iOS 4.2 beta

If you’re as excited as I am about the iOS 4.2 beta being released, you probably spent the majority of Wednesday paging through all of the tech blogs and/or neglecting your responsibilities as an adult. For those of you who aren’t able to experience Apple’s latest firmware until November, I’ve rounded up all the tastiest morsels and topped them with a delicious set of screenshots.

iOS 4.2 beta has some great new features for all three of the main touch devices, meaning that you can expect the following on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad come November:

  • AirPlay: Demoed by Steve Jobs at the keynote on September 1st, AirPlay gives the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch the ability to stream music to the Airport Express and movies, photos, and music to the new Apple TV with the touch of a button.
  • AirPrint: As wireless printing has been one of the most commonly requested features of the iPad since its launch, it’s no surprise that Apple has once again put pressure on the netbook market by granting consumers’ wishes for full over-the-air printing from Safari, Photos, Mail, and more (provided you have a printer that is part of the admittedly limited compatibility list). Your print queue can be managed from a new “Print Center” icon that appears in the multitasking bar. The biggest surprise? You’ll be able to print from your iPhone and iPod touch, too.
  • Changing fonts in the Notes app: In what designers and artists may hail as the greatest single advancement ever made on the platform, Apple has given users the option to change the font that the included Notes app displays. Your choices now include Apple’s original “Marker Felt,” the equally ugly “Chalkboard,” and the wonderful, majestic king of typefaces known as “Helvetica.”
  • ‘Find In Page’ Search in Safari: A small but incredibly useful feature makes its debut on all devices in iOS 4.2 beta. ‘Find In Page’ appears below the Google Suggest search results when the user activates the search box, and it works quite similarly to Safari for Mac.

Follow the gallery link below to get a closeup look at iOS 4.2, or click “Read More” to see the rest of iOS 4.2’s new features that are specific to the iPad.

TUAWWhat’s new (and gorgeous) in iOS 4.2 beta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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