Apple has released iOS version 5.0.1 today to fix the first flaw found in the operating system, which caused a user backlash. The update fixes a battery issue that caused some users to experience less than optimal battery life.
There are a couple of other fixes added into 5.0.1. For our Aussie friends down under, there is improved voice recognition for those with Australian accents. The release also ads multitasking gestures to the original iPad and resolves bug issues with documents in the cloud. There will likely be another update coming soon to address security issues that have recently arisen.
This update comes eight days after Apple said it could take up to two weeks to fix the battery issue. That seems to be normal Apple operating procedure: over estimate and deliver early (same principle it has used for years in determining its market guidance, by the way).
Apple is going to need to address addressed the bug discovered by iOS researcher Charlie Miller that was revealed this week. To do that, Apple is going to have to figure out how to accelerate mobile Safari in a way that does not leave the signature exploit open for further potential harm. These types of things happen though, there have been minor bugs and potential security issues with most rounds of iOS and other mobile OSes that get patched fairly quickly.
Update: So, the Miller bug was fixed in this update. See this page under the bullet point “kernel.”
In terms of battery issues, that is not a new problem to mobile devices either. For instance, the Nokia Lumia 800 test device sent to ReadWriteWeb has some battery issues that require a software update to fix. Sometimes OEMs do not know exactly what the bugs will be until products are launched in the wild and millions of people start going about their normal routines with their devices only to find it does not work as expected.
This is a relatively small update that means that it will be a perfect test run for the first over-the-air sync for iOS devices. When the update was announced this morning the OTA was not available. It is currently available and one ReadWriteWeb staffer had no problem updating with the wireless sync though did note that it is only supposed to work if you have a greater than 50% charge on your iOS device battery. The entire process should take 20 minutes or less start to finish.
Did you get the update? Did you use the wireless sync? How did it go? Let us know in the comments.
