iPhone OS Updated to Improve Battery Life

Apple has just released iOS 5.0.1, a new version of the system software for its smartphones and tablets. The main goal of this update is to improve the battery life of the iPhone 4S and 4.

Shortly after the introduction of iOS 5.0 last month, users around the world began to complain that it shortened the life of the iPhone 4. And when the iPhone 4S hit store shelves a few days later, there were more complaints about a need to frequently re-charge this device.

Apple admitted that there were bugs in this operating system that were shortening the battery life, and promised to release an update... which it has just done.

Other Improvements
iOS 5.0.1 includes a couple of other tweaks as well. A bug related to documents stored on iCloud has been resolved, and the Siri voice-recognition system should be a better job of understanding Australians. 

Users of the original iPad should be happy to learn that support for multi-tasking gestures has also been added to this tablet, allowing them to switch between apps with a gesture.

A New Option for Installation
Since the first iPhone debuted back in 2007, whenever a new version of the iOS was released users have had to connect their smartphone to a computer running iTunes to download and install it. This is no longer true. Users of recent iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch models only need to go to Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install.

The process takes a few minutes, and uses about 55GB of data. Apple recommends that people have their iDevice plugged in during the installation, as running out of battery in the middle would "brick" the unit. 

Those who still prefer to do the installation through iTunes can do so as well. This allows users to do a full backup to their PC before the installation, though this is not required.