Ryan Cushley

A smaller feature announced for iOS 5 is the inclusion of Over The Air (or OTA) software updates. This will allow iOS (much like many other smartphone operating systems) to update to the latest software version without tethering the device to iTunes.Furthermore, iOS 5 marks a departure from the full software downloads of past. iOS 5 allows for ‘delta’ software updating; downloading only of changed data since the last software version. This drastically cuts the download size of iOS and makes the installation process much quicker. Until iOS 5 Beta 4, released to developers on July 22nd, the feature had been disabled, but with the enabling of the feature, this article takes a detailed look at updating Over The Air from Beta 3 to Beta 4.

The process of updating the software is remarkably simple. Nestled within the General section of the Settings app is a new option – ‘Software Updates’. When this is selected the system checks for newer software. If the software is already the latest version, a message stating as such is presented. However, when a new release is available, information about it is presented on this screen with an option to download. Further to this, if a new version is available the Settings app is updated to have a familiar ’1′ badge on its icon.

After checking for updates, the user is presented with the option to download the software. With the first delta update, the software for the GSM iPhone 4 came through as 110mb. The full download version through iTunes is 823mb. This is a big improvement, particularly for users with a capped Internet bandwidth limit. Despite the download being almost 8 times smaller, for this initial beta the download time was very poor. The remaining download time estimation was wildly off, ranging from over two hours to two minutes. In the end on my 25mbps connection via Wi-Fi the download took just over half an hour. For those with quick 3G connections, the download can also be instigated over the mobile data network, but this option can be disabled in Settings.

Following the download I was presented with an error. It turns out that to instigate the installation (but not download), iOS requires the device to have at least 50% battery, be connected to a power source, or both. After connecting to a power source I was able to begin installing iOS 5 beta 4.

Actually installing the update took only one tap on the install button. Perhaps a confirmation button would be better here, but there was no issues getting the update started. A small ‘verifying’ message appeared on screen, followed by a rather disconcerting black screen for approximately 20-30 seconds. After the black screen passed, the Apple logo appeared with the familiar loading bar usually seen when updating through iTunes. This stage took approximately 5-10 minutes.

After the installation completed, iOS immediately rebooted and returned to the Home Screen. There was no notification that the update had completed successfully.

Overall the process was indeed remarkably simple, and this is certainly a feature that is great to see in iOS 5. While some may see it as just another aspect to ‘PC Free’, it is more than that. Receiving Over The Air and delta updates on iOS is an entirely pleasant experience, and much simpler than connecting to iTunes. While there are a few issues with this beta rollout, by the time iOS 5 is made public in the Autumn, the feature is sure to be robust, useful and intuitive.

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