iOS 4.1

We know that MuscleNerd was showing off his brand new jailbroken iPod touch 4G the other day. Looks like the same iOS vulnerability has just been used to jailbreak a second-generation Apple TV. After successfully using the SHAtter exploit MuscleNerd posted video of the Apple TV being accessed with ssh.

SHAtter tricks the Apple TV into restoring with a pre-jailbroken IPSW from PwnageTool. The same exploit should work across all iOS devices including the iPhone 4. Chronic Dev Team members are developing jailbreak tools for public release based on the SHAtter bootrom vulnerability. This method will be much more difficult for Apple to contend with, as a firmware update can't prevent the issue.

Some unlucky iPhone users got the short end of the battery life after updating to iOS 4.1. Users have reported battery life issues among other problems with prior firmware updates (remember iPhone OS 3.1?) but now some running iOS 4.1 are seeing their battery percentage drop to zero within hours.

Online discussion forums are hopping with activity from iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS users complaining of shortened battery life and warm phones running iOS 4.1. Some reports have suggested that errant processes are running in the background constantly and draining the battery power. Bugs in the modem firmware, tethering software, and Game Center have all been cited as possible causes of the issue.

Apple released the first major update to its iOS 4 operating system today. The iOS 4.1 firmware is available free using iTunes and features several highly anticipated additions to the iPhone and iPod touch. Several important bug fixes are also included in the release (build 8B117).

iPhone 4 owners will be happy that proximity sensor issues experienced under iOS 4 should be improved. Speed and performance issues should also see improvement for those with older iPhone 3G hardware. Bluetooth connectivity problems have also been addressed by iOS 4.1.

Many iPhone 3G owners have complained of poor performance and other issues after installing iOS 4 on their devices. The new operating system limits features such as multitasking on the older hardware to keep an acceptable level of performance. Unfortunately something went wrong and Apple has been investigating why iOS 4 brought so many iPhone 3G units to a crawl.

Fortunately, the company is poised to release iOS 4.1, a major update that's already in beta 3 with developers. Joel Evans over at ZDNet has confirmed a vast improvement in iPhone 3G performance with the iOS 4.1 firmware update. In fact, he reports that some functions on the iPhone 3G are faster with iOS 4.1 that they were using 3.1.3. This is welcome news for iPhone 3G owners, whose problems were overshadowed by reception issues on the iPhone 4 antenna.

According to an email from Steve Jobs himself, the latest and greatest iOS firmware version 4.1 will be publicly released soon. Already in beta 3, many features and bug fixes have been revealed by developers and are on their way to iPhone users across the planet. Apple has some finishing touches to add to the firmware before release, which is expected in September.

In the meantime, here's a rundown of what's coming in the iOS 4.1 update. First of all, iPhone 3G users will be happy to hear that iOS 4.1 will improve performance on their devices. Many have complained about sluggish performance and other issues after installing iOS 4.0 on this model iPhone. Subsequent fixes iOS 4.0.1 and 4.0.2 have failed to address the issues.