14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is testing what appears to be a record number of different iOS builds internally, with the latest such beta being iOS 8.4, according to knowledgeable sources.
Unnamed insiders reported the finding to 9to5mac yesterday, signaling that said update should drop only after the Apple Watch makes its debut. Codenamed Copper, after a ski resort in Colorado, the software is expected to arrive with Apple’s retooled and rebranded Beats music service.
If delays are incurred, the development of this update could be folded into the major iOS 9 announcement and its subsequent release in the fall. Nothing is set in stone for the time being, but Apple is certainly firing on all cylinders.
In related news, new betas of iOS 8.2 and even iOS 8.3 have been made available for download on the iOS Dev Center. Sources close to the situation also reported recently that iOS 9 development has begun alongside these betas, and that this particular upgrade will center around making the operating system more stable.
The news may sound disappointing to most end users, but there are many indications that such a maintenance release is mandatory. Some have likened iOS 9 to Snow Leopard, the longstanding Mac OS that many Apple fans have regarded as the best release in OS X’s history.