Future iOS Updates May Be Delivered Over the Air

The days of cumbersome and lengthy iOS updates via the standard USB-to-computer iTunes connection may be coming to an end, possibly before the end of the year. The blogosphere is buzzing this morning with speculation born of new revelations from *quot;sources*quot; speaking in confidence to our friends at 9 to 5 Mac. According to information they possess, Apple is planning to deliver iOS updates over the air beginning this fall.

The next major iOS upgrade - and it will be a hefty one - should propel the iDevice universe into iOS 5-land. Once iOS 5 is made available, subsequent software updates may be delivered to the iPhone over the air.

In this regard, however, Apple isn't ahead of the curve, it's actually playing catch-up. Given that a number of rival smartphones already offer over-the-air operating system updates, Apple will simply be striving to better compete with other handsets and technologies that, at present, are superior to Apple's iOS in some regards.

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Obviously, if this is a feature in iOS 5, it should conceivably make its way to iPad and iPod touches as well. That means iTunes may no longer be a needed conduit for updating iOS devices in the future. It would also mean that the iPad could finally be a stand alone device.
Of course, Apple would likely have to change to a considerable degree how frequently it delivers software updates - updates that will now have to come in much smaller download packages. After all, many of us had a chuckle at Engadget's jab at yesterday's release of iOS 4.3.3, which delivered a sizable 666.2 MB file to update iPhones to a version that only accomplishes the *quot;removal of things.*quot;

Source: 9to5Mac