iOS 4.1 / 4.0.3 May Arrive as Early as This Week

Apple is on track to deliver a new iOS software update specifically targeting iPhone 3G customers, following widespread complaints of poor performance under version 4.0 of the operating system.

Steve Jobs, chief executive at Apple, confirmed to a customer that his company was rolling out a fix that should address issues with iPhone 3G’s inability to cope with iOS 4.

“I've waited patiently through 4.0.1 and 4.0.2, looking for a fix that will make my phone work again,” this person said to Steve Jobs in an email, according to a report by MacRumors.

The email had come in response to expressed frustration over the performance of his iPhone 3G.

Calling it "dog slow", the customer said he had problems with system responsiveness when scrolling, zooming, and typing, after applying iOS 4, the report revealed.

“I've read the forums that advise me to jailbreak my phone or use some other method so I can downgrade back to a version of iPhone 3, however I'm not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple,” the user added.

A typically terse reply from Steve Jobs soon followed. The CEO simply said: “Software update coming soon.”

Knowing how Apple confirms the upcoming availability of a fix only when it is certain that development is coming along, Softpedia believes either a final version of iOS 4.1 or an iOS 4.0.3 will drop no later than this week.

Last week, a report by AppleInsider claimed that recent iOS 4.1 betas showed improvements in these areas. The yet-unreleased Game Center also appeared to be nearing its public debut.

Additionally, it is reasonable to assume that Apple has been able to address several other issues with the iPhone software in the meanwhile.

By releasing a software update this week, Apple would put an end to many problems experienced by virtually all of its iOS customers, including battery drainage issues for iPod touch owners, problems with the proximity sensor employed by the iPhone 4, and more.