The latest round of updates and changes to Apple's mobile operating system hit developer's iPhones yesterday, and with it a new expiration date that could indicate the final release date for iOS 5. Not only this, but Apple's next generation iPhone 5 hardware is expected to launch simultaneously and ship with iOS 5 installed.

Developers with iOS 5 beta 3 or later can install the beta 6 update over-the-air (OTA) via a 144 MB download. According to developer @iH8sn0w, the expiration date for iOS 5 beta 6 is Thursday September 29, 2011. The million dollar question is will this be the last beta version of iOS 5 or not?

Two patents submitted by Apple point to major feature enhancements under development that would dramatically change the iOS Maps app on iPhones and other mobile devices. Both patents were discovered in the past two weeks by AppleInsider. The patent diagram below shows Apple's take on augmented reality.

Several apps have tried to implement augmented reality by overlaying graphics on top of live video from the iPhone camera. In one example, Yelp included a feature that showed nearby businesses directly on live video of the area. The app made waves two years ago as the first iOS augmented reality application, combining data from the camera, GPS and compass.

It looks like BGR is taking back their August iPhone 5 release date. This time one of their "high-level AT&T sources" revealed that an AT&T Vice President told his employees to prepare themselves for a launch in early October.

The unnamed AT&T President said, “expect things to get really, really busy in the next 35-50 days."

October seems to be the new popular release date with iPhone fortunetellers, Gizmodo published an e-mail from someone claiming to be an AT&T employee, who wrote vacations were blacked out at the end of September. The Wall Street Journal reported that the iPhone 5 will be available sometime in late October. And 9to5Mac sources claim Apple will start accepting pre-orders in September and launch the iPhone 5 on October 7.

A leaked advert published by TechnoBuffalo shows that Best Buy believes the iPhone 3GS is on its way out. In a one-day only sale, Best Buy is offering the device for free with two-year activation. Presumably to make room for the next generation iPhone.

This could be a great way for first time iPhone buyers to jump on the Apple bandwagon, unless Apple really plans to release an affordable iPhone this fall. I can't imagine anyone would want to get stuck with an old device, when an affordable newer iPhone may be on the way.

Apple plans to invest $1 billion dollars to secure a supply of LCD screens after having issues with LG Display and Samsung.

The proposed move is a product of the Samsung/Apple feud. Apple is looking to move away from their new rival, and invest in a Sharp Corp factory to manufacture LCD screens for iPhones and iPads in the future. Japanese chipmakers are hoping to benefit from the switch, and are preparing for increased orders from Apple if they can't patch their relationship with Samsung.

"If the situation escalates into a state of war, this could mean a huge shift in orders," an unnamed source told Reuters.