Apple is expected to release iOS 4.2, the latest update to its popular mobile operating system, this week but there are some discouraging signs — particularly to those who want to wireless print from their iPads on Windows-based printers– that it won’t include universal AirPrint support.
As Enterprise Mobile Today reports, the speculation intensified considerably after AirPrint support was noticeable absent from the update to Apple’s Mac OS X 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard) update.
For now, it appears at minimum there will be a scaled-down version of AirPrint included in 4.2 that would let people print and publish from printers with built-in support for AirPrint.
The problem, if that turns out to be the case, is there’s a dearth of AirPrint-enabled printers on the market now and iPhone and iPad users are none too pleased about the prospect of having to go out and buy a new printer to take advantage of their wireless printing function.
Tomorrow’s expected release of iOS 4.2, the upgrade to Apple’s mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads, is likely to be missing one of the most highly anticipated features, full-scale AirPrint support, which would allow the mobile devices to wirelessly publish on printers in Mac and Windows PC networks.
AirPrint automatically finds printers on local networks and can print text, photos and graphics to them wirelessly over Wi-Fi without the need to install drivers or download software.
What won’t be missing is controversy over the incident, as Apple has been touting the AirPrint feature since showing a preview of iOS 4.2 in September, but has yet to disclose any details on the status of the wireless printing tool.
