When the dust settled after Apple's media event, the company released 5.1 iOS firmware. This is the first major update to the iOS platform ever since iOS 5.0 was released back in 2011. iOS 5.1 download is available now for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2, iPod touch 3G and iPod touch 4G.
iOS 5.1 official changelog:
- Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be limited during initial rollout)
- Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream
- Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
- Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces
- Redesigned Camera app for iPad
- Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers
- Audio for TV programs and films on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer
- Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30-second rewind for iPad
- Addresses bugs affecting battery life
- Fixes and issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls
Getting 5.1 iOS firmware on your device is actually very easy. Either you can download the latest iTunes version, connect your device and update the firmware from there, or you can manually download the iOS 5.1 ipsw files from the links given below. If you're already running iOS 5.0 on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch which is not jailbroken, iOS 5.1 is available as an over-the-air update. Simply go to Settings > General > Software Update. Since only changes are downloaded, the whole process will take no longer than 10 minutes. Be sure to connect to a WiFi network before proceeding.
A word of advice for jailbreakers: Stay away from 5.1 iOS firmware. There is no tethered or untethered jailbreak available for it. Keep your device on iOS 5.0.1 and just to be safe, do save iOS 5.0.1 SHSH blobs of your device.
iOS 5.1 ipsw official download links:
- Apple TV 2G (5.0)
- Apple TV 3G (5.0)
- New iPad WiFi
- New iPad GSM
- New iPad CDMA
- iPad 2 WiFi
- iPad 2 GSM
- iPad 2 CDMA
- iPad
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 4 (GSM)
- iPhone 4 (CDMA)
- iPhone 3GS
- iPod touch 3G
- iPod touch 4G