Many people (including myself) were a bit disappointed that Apple didn’t devote any time during the iPad 2 unveiling to talking about iOS 5, the next major revamp of the software. But there may be a very good reason for that: it’s not coming anytime soon. In fact, the plan right now is to wait to launch iOS 5 until the fall, we’ve heard from two solid sources.
If our sources are right, this would break the pattern of Apple unveiling the latest iOS iteration in the early spring, leading up to a summer launch alongside new iPhone hardware. The spring timetable usually reserved for an iOS roadmap event is why some were hoping Apple may just rope the details into the iPad 2 event. When that didn’t happen, rumors quickly spread that there may be another event in April to talk iOS 5 (and MobileMe). But it’s looking like that will not be the case this year.
But it’s not all bad news. Here’s what we’re hearing right now:
iOS 5 will launch in the fall and will be a major revamp of the OS.It could well be previewed at WWDC, it just won’t be released then.The iOS 5 launch is also likely to coincide with the release of a new type of iPad, which
we previously reported on.The new iOS will be heavily built around the cloud, and we could see several new services launch from Apple that take advantage of this.Yes, one of those is very likely a “music locker” service. There is also a fall launch aim for this, during Apple’s annual music-themed event.But much of the cloud stuff will first be talked about at WWDC, Apple’s developer event which will take place in June.One of the new cloud service elements is likely a location service that focuses on finding friends and family members.As we said yesterday, OS X Lion is
still on pace for a summer release — some of the new cloud components are likely to be baked into it as well.
So the next obvious question is where does this leave the iPhone 5? Again, the standard model for Apple has been to release a new iPhone alongside the new iOS version. We haven’t heard anything specifically about the iPhone with this news, but I would guess that it’s still on track for a WWDC unveiling and release shortly thereafter. If that’s the case, it will just be released with a version of iOS 4.X.
That’s all for now, more to come in the coming weeks, I’m sure.
[photo: flickr/vsz]
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posted Mar 26th 2011 4:56AM 
It's tough to read too much into this, but when Apple publishes a couple of job applications hoping to bring on folks who can "radically improve how people interact with maps and location-based services," we can't help but take note. The outfit's currently seeking a pair of full-timers to be labeled as iOS Maps Application Developers, and it's honing in on applicants with "excellent skills in object-oriented software design and programming." We've felt for awhile that Apple's built-in Maps application wasn't even comparable to Google Maps Navigation, but it could be time for that to change. Even now, iOS users need to fork out cash on a legitimate turn-by-turn app if they're hoping to navigate with the iPod touch or iPhone, but we can only hope that these applications are hinting at a more full-fledged internal program for the software's next major iteration.'Course, we're sure TomTom would beg to disagree... 
First, I apologize profusely for this. But it had to be done. The cultural zeitgeist required it. This week’s YouTube Roundup Theme is: