Apple iOS 7 Release Date Rumors: Nuance Developer Email Hints At Sept. 10 Availability

While Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is widely expected to release a Gold Master, or GM, build of the iOS 7 to its registered developers alongside the unveiling of the iPhone 5S on Sept. 10, a new rumor has suggested that Apple will go one step ahead and release the new iOS version to the public on the same day.

According to Owen Williams of TheNextWeb, Nuance, the company which powers Siri's speech-recognition capabilities, sent an email to developers on Monday, indicating that Apple would roll out the General Availability build of the iOS 7 as soon as Sept. 10.

“As you are probably aware, iOS 7 GA will be released on September 10th,” the email reads.

Williams, who obtained the email and posted it to his personal blog, said that Nuance is unlikely to get inside information about Apple’s iOS release plans. So, the email sent to its developers could be based on assumptions that Apple would unveil the new iPhones and the iOS 7 on Sept. 10.

In addition, there is some confusion over the email's use of iOS 7 "GA," meaning general availability, which is often confused with "GM," or Gold Master, referring to a final version of software ready for release.

Apple typically releases iOS Gold Master versions to developers on the same day as the unveiling of its new iPhones, which gives developers time to prepare their apps to support the final version of the new iOS before it is released to the public.

If Apple’s release schedule from last year is to be followed, in all likelihood, the iOS 7 GM build could be released to developers on Sept. 10, while the iOS 7 GA could be rolled out before the release of the iPhone 5S -- perhaps sometime between Sept. 16 and Sept. 18.