Are you ready for some more Apple rumors? According to an analyst, Apple will release the "golden master" version of iOS 5 by month's end, likely during the week of September 23.
According to AppleInsider and MacRumors, Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told both blogs that this "golden master," or Apple's version of a release candidate, will go out to developers during the last week of the month.
Kuo said mass production of the latest iPhone and iPod touch started in late August, so giving manufacturers time to install the new software on the devices and ship them out, they will likely hit store shelves by mid-October. That follows reports from All Things D, which predicted an October launch.
One point might irk the Apple faithful, who have been waiting for a revamped iPhone. Kuo said he "has seen no evidence of the rumored redesigned 'iPhone 5' in the supply chain," MacRumors said, pointing only to the stripped-down iPhone 4S, or N94.
On that, Kuo said the iPhone 4S will likely have 512MB of RAM, a camera module height that suggests it will not be any thinner than its predecessor, a 3.5-inch display, glass on the front and back, and manufacturing shared by Foxconn (85 percent) and Pegatron (15 percent).
Apple has released several beta versions of iOS 5, the most recent of which was version 7. Apple unveiled a preview version of iOS 5 in June and has said only that it will launch officially in the fall.
Losing track of all the Apple iPhone 5 rumors? Be sure to check out What the iPhone 5 Might Look Like and Six Amazing Phone Technologies We Want in iPhone 5, as well as the 8 Likely iPhone 5 Rumors, and 2 Wild Ones slideshow below.
Also this week, retailers like Target unveiled price drops on the Apple iPod, prompting speculation that they might be trying to make room for new versions. Stay tuned.