Apple Releases iOS 5.0.1 to the Public

After multiple developer betas, and a series of customer tests, Apple has finally released iOS 5.0.1 to the masses. The update comes just under a month after Apple released iOS 5.0, which included over 200 new features.

Unfortunately, iOS 5 brought with it serious battery problems. And after weeks of complaints, Apple gave an official statement last week that confirmed both the presence of the bugs and the existence of a fix…

Early reports suggest that the new update has indeed resolved the issues in iOS 5 causing poor battery life. It also brings with it fixes for Siri, and other additions, like enhanced multitasking gestures for the original iPad. This is the short changelog provided by Apple:

  • Fixes bugs affecting battery life
  • Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad
  • Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud
  • Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

But you still may want to stay away. As we reported yesterday, iOS 5.0.1 likely fixes a recent bug found by security researcher Charlier Miller. The bug, as reported by pod2g, could possibly make implementing an exploit for both iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S “dramatically” easier. You can read more about the security issues that iOS 5.0.1 addresses on Apple’s support page.

So, should you update? Unless your daily device’s battery performance is unbearable, we recommend jailbreakers holding off until we have more information. Updating could cripple your chances of a future jailbreak, and remember, there’s no way to downgrade in iOS 5.

You can download iOS 5.0.1 directly for all your iDevices from our Downloads page.

Update: MuscleNerd has confirmed on Twitter that jailbreakers and unlockers need to stay away from iOS 5.0.1.