BGR reports that it has received information from a "trusted source" outlining Apple's plans for finishing up work on iOS 5 and delivering it to the public. According to the report, Apple is planning to release the eighth beta version of iOS 5 to developers this Friday, September 16th. A golden master version is planned to follow about a week later "on or around" September 23rd.
After beta 8, Apple will introduce a Gold Master build on or around September 23rd as has been rumored. We believe that build is what will be loaded onto the already-assembled iPhone 5 hardware currently waiting for final software in China.
Apple's iPhone carrier partners are said to then be scheduled to give final approval to iOS 5 by October 5th should no issues be found with the release. If any issues are found, Apple will likely have to quickly develop a minor software update to be released as a patch alongside the official iOS 5 and iPhone 5 release.
As we reported yesterday, Apple has been claimed to be preparing to send iOS 5 out to iPhone assemblers sometime between September 23rd and 30th, giving them time to load the operating system onto new iPhones for delivery in early-to-mid October.
