Apple testing the (likely) final builds in-house

Jan 17, 2015 09:40 GMT  ·  By

A new version of the iOS operating system is being prepared for release onto iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices, with Apple seeding a new beta to retail employees, likely as part of the final testing phases before public release.

People familiar with the initiative tell MacRumors that iOS 8.1.3 exhibits only subtle changes, while most of the tweaks have been made under the hood, “with no readily apparent visual changes to the operating system.” Retail staffers in charge of testing the software have not been offered any release notes for this particular beta, according to the sources.

Maintenance release

Apple could post iOS 8.1.3 publicly as early as next week. The update is expected to squash widely reported bugs, although no issues in particular have caught the eye of the media. In other words, it is unclear what the purpose of iOS 8.1.3 is at this point.

Apple is known to be testing other iOS updates internally, including one iOS 8.2, and even iOS 8.3, which is planned for release later this year. Work on iOS 9 has also commenced within Apple, according to recent reports.

The company is believed to have instated the retail testing initiative for iOS 8.1.3 to free up testing resources for the rest of the planned updates, which are considered more important (perhaps packing all-new features as well).

If history is any indication, Apple will start distributing iOS 8.1.3 without warning through iTunes and over-the-air (OTA).

Show Press Release