Apple has as-good-as confirmed that the next iPad will have a front-facing camera, with the inclusion of three new apps in the latest iOS 4.3 beta.
The second beta, sent out to developers overnight, includes Camera and FaceTime apps as well as the first iOS version of PhotoBooth, the entertaining Mac app that Apple ships free with OS X.
FaceTime is the service Apple introduced recently that lets iPhone 4, new iPod touch and Mac users to make free voice and video calls.
The new beta also previews Photo Stream, which according to the accompanying documentation “uploads and stores the last thirty days of your photos on MobileMe and downloads them to all of your devices”. That sounds like another way of saying it automates MobileMe Gallery sharing, so, for instance, pics you take on an iPhone could appear in moments on an iPad, or friends’ devices.
Features that appear in beta releases are guaranteed to make it to the final release. That is certainly the case with the new four- and five-finger gestures that appeared in the first beta.
Apple has now said that the gestures will not be included in iOS 4.3, which must have come as a blow to those websites and pundits who told us that the new gestures would replace the home button on the next iPhone and iPad.
