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John Gruber of Daring Fireball legitimately has the inside scoop on a whole lot of Apple-related information. So, when he says something is coming, you can bet that it probably is. Thus is the case with Apple’s next big update to iOS 7. According to Gruber, “a little birdie” told him that Apple’s iTunes Festival at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) will be watchable from a special app that requires iOS 7.1. If his information is correct, that means Apple will launch iOS 7.1 prior to March 11, which is when the festival begins.
Here is what Gruber said:
“Apple’s first iTunes Festival in the U.S. starts a week from today at SXSW in Austin. Apple is going to stream the performances to iOS devices using an app, but I’ve heard from a little birdie that the app requires iOS 7.1 (which explains why the app isn’t out yet). That means iOS 7.1 should ship any day now.”
Rumor has it that Siri will get some new voice options, including natural sounding voice for Australia, China, and Japan. Beta 5 also noted that mobile Safari will get improvements to the user interface and Wallpaper options have changed.
Last month, we heard rumors that Apple was on track to launch iOS 7.1 in March with some minor tweaks and improvements to the overall operating system. There was supposedly a possibility that Apple would announce the update at a special event. The information may have gotten a little confused in translation.
For the first time in history, Apple will host an iTunes Festival in the US. Traditionally, it takes place in London each September. The US iTunes Festival will be part of SXSW, which takes place each March in Austin, Texas.
If Gruber is right, Apple only has about a week to get iOS 7.1 in order. This update will bring with it four days of music from some of the biggest names around.
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