The next patch to be released for iOS 5, version 5.0.2, could incorporate additional battery fixes that complement the release of iOS 5.0.1, reports German site Macerkopf. After that version is released, reports the site, the release will be iOS 5.1, which will bring additional features to Siri.
iOS 5.0.2 is said to be arriving ‘no later than next week’ and would continue to improve on the battery life of devices running iOS 5, including the new iPhone 4S. Releasing another update to iOS 5 as soon as a week after the release of the last isn’t completely unheard of, but normally comes when there is a serious security issue.
When iOS 5.0.1 was released and failed to fix all of the battery life issues that users were having, we speculated that it may have been rushed out to fix bugs discovered by security researcher Charlie Miller in the code signing of Apple’s new Nitro JavaScript engine for Mobile Safari. If that is accurate, it would explain the quick turnaround of another version, as Apple would want to get the rest of the fixes it had been testing, but was unable to include in 5.0.1.
No developer beta of iOS 5.0.2 has been seeded as of yet, something that normally happens at least a week before a release.
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Out beyond that update, the rumors get a bit more sketchy and focus on improvements to Apple’s Siri voice assistant. The improvements suggested by the site include the addition of some new Siri commands including “take a picture”, “make a video”, “switch on/off WiFi”, as well as enabling and disabling Bluetooth functions and “more”.
The addition of more features to Siri is obviously a logical conclusion to draw, although which version of the OS these improvements will arrive in is still up in the air, as is the timing of the release of “iOS 5.1.”
It’s clear at this point that Apple intends to grow Siri and use its personality to leverage the iPhone brand. If it plays its cards right and increases the capabilities of Siri correctly, it could even use it to divorce itself from much of Google’s hold on iOS.
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