Next iPhone to have Over-the-Air Updates

The day is getting closer when you don't need to plug your iPhone, iPad or iPod into your computer to update its operating system. There's a report that iOS 5 will be capable of over-the-air updates. According to 9to5 Mac's multiple sources, Apple has been negotiating with Verizon Wireless to provide the over-the-air updates.

For iOS updates to be delivered over-the-air, Apple will need to make fundamental changes in the way its updates work. For one thing, Apple will need to stop requiring a download of the entire operating system for a simple update.

Perhaps Apple will let these updates take place only over Wi-Fi connections, as it does for some large app downloads. Even if that's the case, just for the sake of efficiency it would be a good idea to send incremental updates, similar to the way Microsoft has been updating its operating systems for years, in small pieces as they become available.

This would be a long-awaited and welcome capability - a feature that's commonplace in the Android operating system. So how longer must we wait? According to a general consensus, iOS 5 will launch when the iPhone 5 ships, and now the latest iPhone rumor is that it won't be happening in June or July. The next iPhone is expected to ship in September.

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