Apple iOS 7 Release Date Nears: iOS 7 Beta 6 Arrives With Bug Fix As Gold Master May Reach Developers On Sept. 10

In an unexpected move, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) seeded the iOS 7 beta 6 to its registered developers on Thursday, while the latest rumors have it that the company may release the Gold Master build of iOS 7 to developers on Sept. 10 -- the same day that the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C are expected to be unveiled.

Drifting from its usual Monday release schedule of iOS beta releases, Apple rolled out the sixth beta version of the iOS 7 to developers on Thursday with the bug fix for an issue with iTunes in the Cloud.

The iOS 7 beta 6, which arrives as build 11A4449d, is now available to registered Apple developers via the Dev Center, or as an over-the-air update, which can be installed by navigating to the Software Update section in the Settings app on iOS devices that currently have a previous beta version of iOS 7 installed.

The new beta version, which was expected to be seeded next Monday, is only 13.5 MB in size on the iPhone 5, suggesting that it could be nothing but an urgent bug fix.

According to various sources, here is the complete change-log of the iOS 7 beta 6:

“This update address an issue with iTunes in the Cloud, where some purchases may download or play unexpected items. If you have any devices running previous versions of iOS 7 beta, you must:

- Install iOS 7 beta 6

- Install the ResetMusicAndVideosLibraries configuration profile

- From Settings > Music, tap the Reset Media Library button

- Restart the device”

While the iPhone 5S is expected to be introduced at a media event on Sept. 10, BGR reported, on Thursday, that Apple will release the Gold Master build of the iOS 7 to developers on the same day.

The report said also that the company’s employees and carrier partners will receive an internal gold master copy five days earlier, on Sept. 5. The iOS 7 Gold Master build, bound for the carriers, should be the final software that will get released for the public later, “barring any major bugs or problems that might be discovered,” the report said.

It is worth mentioning here that Apple released the Gold Master build of iOS 6 to its developers on Sept. 12 last year, the same day when the company unveiled the iPhone 5 at a media event. The final version of the iOS 6 was released to the public on Sept. 19, and the iPhone 5 was launched on Sept. 21.

If Apple follows the same release cycle, iOS 7 could be released to the public just a few days prior the release of the iPhone 5S, with firmware updates to older iPhone models and the iPad lineup expected around the same time.