iOS 5.1 release date rumored to be on or around March 9

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

iMore recently heard Apple's iPad 3 event would be happening on March 7, and now BGR is hearing that iOS 5.1 will follow on or around March 9. BGR also confirmed the new slide-up-to-access-camera lock-screen gesture spotted yesterday by Blog do iPhone.

iOS 5.1 has been in beta for quite a while and has been assumed to be coming with the iPad 3, so that timeline makes sense. Unless Boy Genius is holding something back, however, new camera access and Japanese support for Siri aren't a ton of new features for iPhone users to look forward to.

Previous iOS x.1 releases have varied in their new feature sets, gaining everything from the iTunes Store app in 1.1 to Genius Playlists in [iPhone OS 2.1] to Genius for Apps in iPhone OS 3.1 to HDR photography, Ping social music network, TV show rentals, and Game Center in iOS 4.1.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, surprises Apple has in store for iPad users with iOS 5.1, however, specifically designed to highlight iPad 3.

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

10 Comments
  • Cant wait
    I'm not into jailbreaking anymore
    Did all that with past iPhones
    I got the iPhone 4S 64gig and battery is OK
    Btw , iMore , have you picked the winner of the jambox/ gift card for iTunes yet?
    I never win anyway, lol.
    But thanks for all the give-a-ways and your hard work
  • Please, please, please Apple fix the bluetooth with 5.1. After 5.0 iPhones won't stay interfaced with half the cars on the road, not to mention some aftermarket car stereos, headsets, etc.
  • +1 on the bluetooth fix. I have so many issues of no audio on calls after having BT turned on. My battery life is good even with WIFI on so that's not a concern for me. BT is the biggest thing I am hoping for in 5.1 - the rest is just fluff.
  • The battery issue has been getting all the press but I haven't seen anything here on iMore or anywhere else about the bluetooth problem. If you look through Apple Support Communities apparently the issue is very widespread. I got my iPhone when they became available through Verizon about a year ago after using Blackberries for years. Even now my work-issued Blackberry Curve interfaces easily with my car. Quite disappointing from a company whose devices are supposed to "just work".
  • I'm guessing that some features from OS X mountain lion will already be introduced in iOS 5.1 such as deep integration of social media other then Twitter and this so called gatekeeper were developers can bypass the long app approval process by signing the app.
  • I would love to see Facebook integration like they did with twitter. I don't know anybody my age (26) who twitters. None of my friends, family, or acquaintances twitter. However everyone I know has a Facebook account....
  • I just want name display to work on my iPhone4s.
  • https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3458780?start=0&tstart=0
  • I do think they should fix the bluetooth with the update and maybe make it more compatible with the PS3, but also I have an IPod Touch 4th Generation and the battery dies in it fairly quickly. I maybe get an hour or two of use using wifi and maybe only three or four hours without using wifi. I would love to see the battery life extended as long as you can possibly make it. Also maybe the apps close automatically when you exit out of them instead of leaving them active and draining battery.
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