Since the first iPhone debuted in 2007 -- and right up through this week’s iOS 4.3.3 update -- installing a new software version on your handset has meant jacking into iTunes. But that could change starting with iOS 5 later this year.
9to5Mac is reporting that updating your iOS device by way of iTunes could soon be a thing of the past -- at least for minor updates such as this week’s iOS 4.3.3, which addressed Apple’s location services bug. According to multiple sources, the company is working with at least one carrier to make over the air updates a reality at last.
“The new feature will debut in iOS 5, meaning iOS 5 will not come over-the-air but following point updates to it will,” 9to5Mac reports. “Just like tethering in iOS 3, Apple has the technology but cannot just unleash it everywhere. Apple and Verizon Wireless are said to have been in talks over these wireless software updates since early this year. Sources could not comment on whether or not Apple is negotiating similar deals with AT&T or international iPhone carriers.”
Of course, current iOS updates weigh in at over 600MB, which is rather impractical for over the air updating -- Apple will likely have to implement incremental patches instead of replacing the entire operating system with each minor update. 9to5Mac also theorizes that some type of cloud-based backup will need to be in place in case something goes wrong, since the iTunes backup would no longer contain the latest OS.
Keep in mind that one iOS-based device already gets its updates over the air -- the second-generation black Apple TV (the first-gen also received OTA updates, but its software was based on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger). 9to5Mac proposes the mockup seen above as how Apple might initiate OTA updates -- which we would certainly embrace, although such a move could ultimately thwart jailbreakers as well.
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(Image courtesy of 9to5Mac)
