Rumor: over-the-air updates to Verizon iPhone coming with iOS 5

By Trevor Mogg May 4, 2011

In what would be another step toward being able to banish those tangled wires to the back of the closet forever, 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple is close to offering over-the-air updates to its Verizon iPhone users.

Whereas Android users have long been able to update software on their smartphones without the need to connect to another device, their iPhone counterparts need to link up to a computer via a USB port and then open up iTunes to download any updates.

In the fall of this year, this could all change. According to “multiple sources,” 9to5Mac believes the new feature will be introduced in iOS 5 for the Verizon iPhone. But of course, to load your phone up with iOS 5, you’ll first need to connect it to your computer via a USB port, open up iTunes and….you get the picture. Once you have iOS 5 loaded, complete with the new over-the-air capability, you’ll be able to use the function with subsequent updates.

Apple and Verizon have apparently been in talks for months regarding wireless software updates, though it’s not clear whether similar negotiations are taking place with AT&T or international iPhone carriers. An issue that may be causing concern is the size of the updates. Often in the region of 600MB, wireless carriers may have difficulties if thousands of iPhone owners start downloading such a large update at pretty much the same time.

As 9to5Mac points out, the new wireless feature could, at some point in the not-too-distant future, result in iPad and iPod touch users ridding themselves of the need to connect with iTunes every time a software update is required. Though many may say it’s no great effort to connect with a computer occasionally, it would still be a welcome feature giving a user more options regarding the installation of updates, as well as bringing their device something owners of Android phones have been using for a long time.

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