Apple releases iOS 4.1

Apple has released iOS 4.1 for iPhones and iPods which patches security flaws and addresses iPhone software flaws with the proximity sensor and Bluetooth connectivity. 

The new operating system also adds HDR support for the iPhone 4 camera application which takes a number of photos in quick succession and combines the results for better image quality. The new Gaming Center also debuts in iOS 4.1, adding a social networking dashboard although the iPhone 3G wont gain the new feature. 

Just hours after the update had been issued, iPhone hacker group "Dev-Team" announced the discovery of a vulnerability in the boot ROM common to iPhones and iPod Touch devices which allows opens the way to a new "jailbreak" for the latest iOS. Since the boot ROM is a low-level component which loads prior to iOS, the hack group speculated that Apple wouldn’t be able to patch the flaw out as they have with the previous browser vulnerability exploited by the jailbreakme.com site. 

Many iPhone 3GS owners that had previously updated to iOS 4.0 subsequently found their phones noticeably sluggish compared with the previous version. iOS 4.1 will also improve performance on the older iPhone which will be a welcome upgrade for many.

Perhaps even more welcome will be the squashing of the fateful iPhone 4 proximity sensor bug which had enraged many new iPhone 4 owners as their phones disconnected calls prior to the update. Poor Bluetooth connectivity is also said to be addressed in the update and support has been added for AVRCP devices to offer music playback control etc.

If previous updates have been an indication then Apple’s servers will likely struggle under the load initially, making an already lengthy process take even longer. So Apple device owners not in a burning hurry for the fixes may well be advised to wait a little while.