Two days after the new iPod touch received the 2.1 firmware update, Apple is releasing the same update for iPhones as promised. This is a long awaited update, especially for iPhone 3G users who have been suffering frequent call setup failures and dropped calls.

Apple has been surprisingly open about this new update, with a full description rather than the usual cryptic one-liners like “bug fixes and performance improvements”. Aside from fixing the aforementioned network quality issues, this update also promises:
- better battery life
- reduced backup times to iTunes
- improved email reliability
- faster 3rd party app installation

There are a few other bits and pieces, but these points above address most of the complaints of iPhone users since version 2.0 was released in July.

The only really new feature of this firmware update is the Genius recommendation engine, which was demonstrated during the Apple “Let’s Rock” event a couple of days. The feature is also built into iTunes 8, and you have to activate it in iTunes before it can work on the iPhone.

If you have a jailbroken or unlocked iPhone, you should wait awhile until our usual band of hackers can get their magic done. You may also want to wait a few days and follow the reports of early adopters. Otherwise, this looks like a good update all around.

Tagged with:

Filed under: iPhone

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!