I don't know. At the end of last year, WotC folk vaguely suggested that we might see something early this year for those classes. After that, I didn't hear much about the Artificer. I do wonder, with some of the Eberron hints, whether we might see a an official version sooner than we think. But who knows.
With regard to the revised ranger, it was mentioned that they were considering substitute class features rather than a fully revised class. It was also mentioned that they might want to do that for other classes as well. And I definitely got the impression that they had decided to delay any UA while they revisited the whole topic and decided what to do. The last time I remember Crawford talking about it he made some comments to the effect that their data indicated that most people were actually ok with the ranger as is (i.e., that perhaps some of us unhappy people are a vocal minority) and that they really had to balance making changes against the confusion it might cause for the general D&D public. It left me wondering whether they were thinking about pulling back from the idea of doing anything at all (i.e., if it ain't broken that bad, don't fix it). But that's just speculation.
If I were going to speculate further (total wild speculation), I wonder whether they'll eventually release a UA with alternate class features for a bunch of classes and sell it as a customization option rather than a fix. Might be easier then to fit in some expansion down the road, wouldn't invalidate existing PHB classes, etc.
As for this year? I think that given current info, that's a big maybe. I wouldn't be surprised if something showed up in the fall. But I also wouldn't be surprised if it took longer. They clearly don't mind taking more time if they think they are more likely to get it right that way (psionics being a prime example).
That's my two cents!
AD
