iOS 5.1 Rumored For March 9th Release, Security Fix On The Menu

This year, rumors of the announcement and release of the iPad 3 have been tethered with the release of iOS 5 as well. We’ve been covering a wide range of rumors and speculation related to iOS 5, ranging from it fixing the battery drain issues on the iPhone 4S to new updates to Siri and other bells and whistles. Most importantly, the iOS 5.1 release date has been widely speculated on, with the tech world imagining its release to be close to the iPad 3.

New rumors today are pointing to March 9th as the iOS 5.1 release.

According to Planet Insane, “the most recent iOS from Apple might be unveiled on March 9 as suggested by iPhone carriers in Japan and Europe,” explaining also that “the rumored release date of the iPad 3 will correspond with that of the iOS 5.1. The iPad 3 is anticipated to have 4G LTE, which uses up a lot of battery power, and a lot of improvements in terms of its display. So, if the iOS 5.1 indeed solves the battery life problems of the iPhone 4S, it will allow the iPad 3 to reduce energy consumption.”

This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard the March 9th rumor for the iOS 5.1 release date, and the fact that European and Japanese carriers have hinted at March 9th as a possible release date for iOS 5.1 has to be taken with a grain of salt. Furthermore, if what Planet Insane says is true, and that the iPad 3's own challenging battery consumption will rely on iOS 5.1 in order to offer users the longevity they are looking for, then it would stand to reason that iOS 5.1 would need to be ready to go by March 7th at the latest.

Another interesting iOS 5.1-related report comes from Phones Review, who reports that the new operating system iteration could include some security fixes for Apple’s mobile devices. they explain that “a worrying security flaw has been found in iOS that allows third-party developers to gain access to user’s photo and video location data on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, and that as a result, “the problem may not be around for much longer as sources are claiming a fix is already on route to the software. Apple is apparently already aware of the problem and a security fix will be available with the next iOS release.”

For as much as iOS 5.1 may include critical upgrades that will fix battery and security issues, it is more likely that users will find new rumored features, such as rich text formatting for Notes, a new camera button on the lock screen, and expanded multi-language support for Siri.

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iOS 5.1 Code Suggests A5X, A6 Processors On Their Way

The new rumor is that code in iOS 5.1 points to Apple testing both the rumored quad-core A6 and dual-core A5X processors. But does this new “evidence” really bring us any closer to confirming what Apple’s new chip — or chips — will be?

In 2011, the dual-release iPhone 4S/iPhone 5 rumors persisted throughout the Summer, with some of the most well-read tech publications predicting that Apple would offer the iPhone 4S as a low-cost alternative to a premium-priced iPhone 5. Now that 20/20 hindsight has proved that notion to be preposterous (to wit, the iPhone 4 works beautifully as a value-priced altertive to the $s, anyway), it appears that there is now a new dual-release rumor has surfaced, this time concerning Apple’s new, rumored processors.

9to5Mac is leading the way on this new rumor, claiming that the new iOS 5.1 code indicates both a quad-core A6 chip and dual-core A5X chip as well. The folks at 9to5Mac explain it thusly: “. . . the next major iOS device processor revamp (A6, not A5X) would be called the “S5L8950X.” Now, we discovered evidence to support Apple is working on that specific chip. Deep in the iOS 5.1 betas (as shown below) sits references to two next-generation iOS device chips: the previously discussed S5L8945X and this new S5L8950X. While nobody found the 50X (A6) chip in the code until now, we can report that both next-generation processors entered the iOS code simultaneously. This would seem to indicate Apple is working on two next-generation chips.”

Even if it is true that iOS 5.1 will accommodate both the A6 and A5X chips, 9to5Mac admits that there is no way to tell what the appearance of this code will really add up to for consumers. While on one hand it may be fun to speculate that the quad-core A6 chip will debut on the iPad 3, and the A5X chip will be used to power a lesser-priced “mini iPad” or perhaps an update to Apple TV, which Tim Cook recently hinted at. In the end, however, it is also quite possible that the iOS 5.1 code allows for testing of two processor prototypes, only one of which will actually be used in this year’s new mobile devices.

While it is not impossible to imagine apple utilizing multiple processors in multiple devices — both the A4 and A5 chip are currently used, after all — the appearance of the A5X rumor once again brings us to a complex “three’s a crowd” set of chip that is hard to account for: just as it seemed unlikely to imagine an iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 in 2011, it is equally odd to imagine Apple juggling the A4, A5, A5x, and A6 processors in 2012 (though it is less complex to balance multiple chips than multiple devices, I’m sure).

My sense, however, is that what we’re beginning to see here in rumor creep. First, the quad-core A6 rumors dominated. Then, the quad-core A6 rumors were put into question, and the appearance of the rumored A5X chip surfaced. Now, the next iteration of this rumor is that Apple will have both of them in production. In spite of the quasi-compelling iOS 5.1 code evidence, the rumor is still dubious at best.

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Apple Makes It Official: To Announce iPad 3 On March 7th

iPad 3 release date March 7thToday, the mainstream media is reporting on the announcement from Cupertino that there will be an event on March 7th for the iPad 3. Invitations to the media were released today with a typically cryptic, tantalizing tagline: “We have something you really have to see. And touch.”

Speculation has raged for months about what we can expect from the iPad 3. The prevailing belief is that it will feature a dramatically improved retina display, 4G LTE connectivity, and some kind of improvement in the processor. In recent weeks, there has been debate over whether the new chip will be the rumored quad-core A6, or the more recent rumor of a dual-cure “A5X,” which constitutes a refresh of the current A5.

Or, as rumors today suggest, Apple could be producing both, perhaps for use in a “mini iPad” to accompany the standard 9.7-inch version that is expected.

On the invitations to the press, the new photo of the iPad 3 appears to be missing a home button. Computerworld remarks, “If the background is a photograph of the iPad 3 and not digitally manipulated, it hints that the tablet will not sport a physical home button, as have earlier iPads.” This change in the iPad’s design would be a major overhaul in Apple’s mode of navigation for its mobile devices, and would confirm what many have speculated about for years — that Apple would eventually move to replace the physical home button with something new and next-generation. If the iPad 3 is losing the home button, it would not be hard to imagine that the new iPhone 5 will be home button-less as well.

Some are also suggesting that the disappearance of the home button on the iPad 3 could also suggest that Apple is looking to increase the screen size without increasing the dimensions of the tablet itself. Even CNBC‘s own highly-cited article suggests this: “It is expected that the new ipad will have a larger screen, a faster processor and a better camera, said Ashok Kumar, an analyst for Maxim Group.”

To be sure, all of these speculations will be confirmed on March 7th, along with the price of the new iPad 3, which some believe will see an increase from previous iPad models, thanks to the new hardware and design.

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