iOS 5.1 coming as Gold Master is said to have passed QA test

After three weeks of strenuous testing by Apple and its carrier partners, the Gold Master build of iOS 5.1 has passed the Quality Assurance test and is one step closer to launch. This comes from a source for Chronic Wire characterized as being solid. The build number is 9B176 although three other partners testing the software have different build numbers, usually off by one digit in each case. Those testers might be working on iOS 5.1.1.

Some of the new features expected for iOS 5.1 include Japanese support for voice activated/personal assistant Siri, a new permanent camera icon for the lockscreen that sends you lickety split to the camera app, and a possible update to the Notes app to name a few. The latter would replace the drab note-taking application with a variety of colored backgrounds/text and a number of new fonts to choose from.

Now that the software has passed the QA test, it should soon be ready for the end user. As for when that will be, a month ago we showed you a profile that hinted at a March 9th release of iOS 5.1. Besides the Japanese fluent Siri, the newest build of Apple's mobile OS should also include a fix that should end any issues that Apple iPhone 4S users are having with the battery.

source: ChronicWire via RedmondPie