Apple may soon make it possible to share an iPhone’s internet connection with an iPad, if an option in the latest iOS 4.2 beta survives into the final release.
Developers received the newest beta this week, and tucked away inside the Settings app is an option to enable tethering.
Currently iPads can only connect to the internet over Wi-Fi or in the case of the 3G-enabled models, with the purchase of a micro-SIM card and data credits. Tethering would allow you to link the iPad to an iPhone over Bluetooth to share the phone’s internet connection, something that is already possible with a computer and an iPhone.
The new beta is also said to reduce individual app’s memory requirements by as much as 25%, which is significant since iOS 4.2 will bring multitasking to the iPad.
Apple has already said that the new version of the software that runs the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch will also introduce wireless printing from the iPad and a new AirPlay technology that will let you stream music and video from an iOS device to any compatible receiver such as AppleTV and home audio and cinema systems.
