Apple, as you may have heard, has recently
equipped developers with new betas of the iPhone OS 3.0 and SDK, as well as a pre-release build of iTunes 8.2, whose release notes and UI changes include a few curious accounts, as well as predictable ones.
World of Apple has
posted tantalizing screenshots (two of which we took the liberty of including in this piece) of the changes occurring in iTunes 8.2. Pointing out that the update is required to install the latest iPhone OS 3.0 release, the source touts iTunes 8.2 as “largely very similar to 8.1,” yet still worth looking at thanks to a minor, but significant set of changes.
First off, the site outlines that iTunes 8.2 Pre-release includes a reference to Blu-ray, commenting that it's “possibly a sign of playback capabilities in iTunes 8.2.” We wouldn't dismiss, nor deny this possibility, but Apple has been very reluctant in supporting Blu-ray. However, like any company, Apple may be prompted to address demand. It all depends on whether there really is any demand for the high-def format among Apple community members or not.
A second new find in the pre-release iTunes 8.2 reveals that the Sync feature (for an iPhone or iPod) in iTunes 8.2 now adds the ability to encrypt backups. Fair enough – you can never have too much security these days.
Lastly, World of Apple notes, “when syncing an iPhone, the Notes section in the Info tab now requires Mac OS X 10.5.7, suggesting an imminent release.”
This third finding (although noteworthy) isn't all that surprising, really. A comet hitting the Earth is just as good of an indication that the 10.5.7 release is imminent, this time around. But hey, it's still good news.
As of this post, no other changes have been reported in iTunes 8.2, as far as we know. Readers are encouraged to leave their comments if they happen to learn of additional changes with Apple's media player.
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