Apple Seeds iOS 5.0.1 Beta: Multitasking Gestures for iPad 1, Battery Life Improvements

Apple just released iOS 5.0.1 beta to developers. The build number of 5.0.1 is 9A402.

501beta

iOS 5.0.1 beta contains improvements and other bug fixes including:
- Fixes bugs affecting battery life
- Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad
- Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud
- Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation
- Contains security improvements

iOS 5.0.1 beta introduces a new way for developers to specify files that should remain on device, even in low storage situations.

The last note about files addresses an iOS 5.0 issue raised by Marco Arment.

There’s no longer anywhere to store files that don’t need to be backed up (or can’t be, by the new policy) but shouldn’t be randomly deleted.

The iOS 5.0 policy introduced issues for apps that wished to store offline data. Apple appears to have addressed this issue in 5.0.1.

Popular Stories

iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
Verizon New

Verizon Offering $20 Credit After Major Outage, Here's How to Get It

Thursday January 15, 2026 7:37 am PST by
Verizon today announced it will be offering customers a $20 account credit after a major outage on Wednesday, and action is required to receive it. The carrier said affected customers can accept the credit by logging into the My Verizon app, but it might take some time before this option shows up in the app. Affected customers will receive a text message when the credit is available. On...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

These 5 Apple Products Will Reportedly Be Upgraded With OLED Displays

Friday January 16, 2026 7:07 pm PST by
Apple plans to upgrade the iPad mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air with OLED displays between 2026 and 2028, according to DigiTimes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that the iPad mini and MacBook Pro will receive an OLED display as early as this year, but he does not expect the MacBook Air to adopt the technology until 2028 at the earliest. A new iPad Air is...

Top Rated Comments

mrboult Avatar
185 months ago
Gestures on the original iPad!!!! Alright!
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ravenvii Avatar
185 months ago
umm you always need a jailbreak.. ios is crap with no BJ..:mad:
... I lol'd.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
delawn Avatar
185 months ago
I'm definitely happy that they're adding multitasking gestures back to the iPad 1. No need for a jailbreak now.

Now, can they PLEASE fix the Safari crashing issue on the iPad 1?! That one's the most infuriating, as I actually added multitasking gestures using a modified version of redsn0w that doesn't apply a jailbreak.
umm you always need a jailbreak.. ios is crap with no BJ..:mad:Thanks a lot. I told my wife that my iOS needed a BJ and now I have the imprint of an iPhone on the side of my head.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oiuh151 Avatar
185 months ago
Gestures on the original iPad!!!! Alright!

Agreed! Really glad they're adding this functionality.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmChimera Avatar
185 months ago
Trust me.
No?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TG1 Avatar
185 months ago
I wish there was a way to do the update OTA.
Hmm. Wouldn't this be the first test of iOS 5's OTA abilities?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)