14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has rolled out a beta of iOS 5.1, the first major incremental update to iOS 5 since October, via its Developer channel where registered coders can also grab an updated version of the Xcode developer tools with a new iOS SDK.
Accompanied by a lengthy set of release notes, iOS 5.1 Build 9B511b is a pre-release version of iOS 5.1 for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch that only goes on devices registered with Apple’s developer program.
According to the people behind Mac OS X, “Attempting to install this version of iOS in an unauthorized manner could put your device in an unusable state.”
Early tests done by those privileged enough to be offered the bits for download indicate Apple is tweaking iOS to include some settings that allow the user to control battery drainage by some services.
For example, there is a new “geofencing” setting for the Reminders app that tells it to stop listening for changes in the user’s location when not needed, thus reducing battery drain. Another reported change is the iTunes Match setting that lets you ‘Use Cellular Data’ to sync music.
“With this software you can develop applications that run on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 5.1. You can also test your applications using the included iOS Simulator, which supports iOS 5.1,” the release notes say.
Also in the changelog, the Cupertino giant reveals that there are two Xcode iOS SDK 5.1 images included in the downloads - one for installing on a Mac running Mac OS X 10.6.7 (Snow Leopard) or later, the other for installing on a machine running Lion (version 10.7 of the OS).
As for the SDK itself, it provides support for developing both iOS and Mac apps and includes the complete set of Xcode tools, compilers, and frameworks.