AppleCare staff instructed to expect numerous calls on iOS-related matters

Sep 14, 2011 14:05 GMT  ·  By

Apple support representatives have reportedly been told to expect a significant increase in customer calls on iOS-related matters come October 10th, in what would pinpoint the actual release date of Apple’s public iOS 5 launch.

A person who is allegedly familiar with the matter said his local AppleCare call center had been told to expect an increase in iOS-related calls on that day, according to a report.

Staffers are being warned of an estimated eightfold increase in phone traffic. This person said Apple could release iOS 5 and iCloud on that particular day, based on the information he / she had just received.

iOS 5, the fifth major iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system powering iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices, is currently being tested internally by people enrolled with the company’s developer programs.

It will not only work on current-generation hardware, but also on next-generation hardware, be it the iPhone 5 or the rumored iPhone 4S.

Seeded a record number of times as beta software to developers, iOS 5 is rapidly approaching the end of its development cycle, with the eighth build expected to drop this Friday, and a Golden Master (GM) release approximately two weeks thereafter.

The GM will not only be sent over to iPhone manufacturers to pre-install shipment-ready iPhones, it will also be posted publicly on Apple’s web site as the final version of iOS 5.

It will be a free download available to all iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners.

Knowing how Apple likes to complement a major iOS release with a refresh of the hardware it’s supposed to run on (and vice versa) we have every reason to believe the company will be hosting an event later this month, or sometime in early October, during which the next-generation of iPhones will be announced.

There is also talk of a mid-October launch for the iPhone 5, which falls in line well with this new report.