It’s been more than a month since Apple seeded iOS 5.1 beta 3 to developers, and more than three months since it released the first one. So we’ve started wondering, when will we see the next version of iOS?
Judging by Apple’s history, the company is more than likely waiting for its upcoming iPad event to unveil iOS 5.1. And according to the folks over at YourDailyMac, we could see both drop on March 9th…
“We today discovered that Apple published eleven new profiles for various iPhone-operators. These files are compatible with iOS 5.1 and are set for release on March 9. This could indicate that iOS 5.1 will be released around the date, and available for the following devices; iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch 3G/4G, iPad and iPad 2.”
Although YourDailyMac has provided a screenshot of the evidence in the carrier profile (above), we’re still plenty skeptical. For one, we can’t imagine Apple embedding a concrete release date in any context. The company is known for its attention to detail, and has, in the past, delayed software releases for more than a month to get them just right.
The date, March 9th, also sounds a bit sketchy. If we’re correct in assuming that Apple will unveil iOS 5.1 alongside its new iPad, a Friday release date just doesn’t make sense. We can’t remember the last time that Apple made a major announcement on a Friday.
Of course, an early March iPad release does fall in line with previous rumors. So we wouldn’t be surprised to see both the new software and the new tablet drop sometime in the first or second week of March.
iOS 5.1 is expected to contain a number of new features, including greater Siri functionality. It’s also rumored to contain a patch for the exploits used in the current jailbreak, so make sure you’ve saved your iOS 5.0.1 SHSH blobs.
[BGR]