Following the news that Apple is almost certainly planning an iPhone-related media event on September 10, BGR claims to have information on when Apple will release the Gold Master version of iOS 7 (the final version that will ship to customers). According to the report, the 6th and final iOS 7 beta will be seeded to developers next week, and the Gold Master will reach developers on Sept. 10 – the same day as Apple’s anticipated iPhone event!
While the report isn’t verified, it does seem like a safe guess regarding Apple’s pre-release developer seed cycle. It would be consistent with how Apple has handled iOS developer seeds in previous years, and would allow developers an opportunity to perform final app compatibility tests on the public release version of iOS 7 before it is officially launched to the public sometime after the event.
While developers won’t get the iOS 7 GM until September 10th, Apple employees and carrier partners will reportedly receive it on September 5th, allowing them a few days to familiarize themselves with the firmware before it reaches Apple’s developer community.
Update: BGR was dead wrong about iOS 7 beta 6 – it was actually released yesterday! As such, we suspect that their “exclusive” post was nothing more than a likely guess. As such, the early September release of the iOS 7 Gold Master to developers still seems quite likely.
