Apple iOS 7.1 Release Date Coming: Update Expected In Time For iTunes Festival 2014

South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the nation’s foremost music and tech events. Held every winter in Austin, Texas, the festival features musicians, films, art and discussions from industry notables. This year the trade show will host a talk (not in person, of course) from Edward Snowden, film discussions with Robert Rodriguez and Diego Luna and music performances by Coldplay and Imagine Dragons broadcast live via the iTunes Festival.

To livestream the iTunes Festival 2014, iPhones and iPads will have to be updated to the latest version of the mobile operating system, iOS 7.1, which has yet to be released.

John Gruber of the website Daring Fireball says streaming the iTunes Festival will require an app that has yet to be released. “Apple’s first iTunes Festival in the U.S. starts a week from today at SXSW in Austin,” states Gruber. “Apple is going to stream the performances to iOS devices using an app, but I’ve heard from a little birdie that the app requires iOS 7.1 (which explains why the app isn’t out yet). That means iOS 7.1 should ship any day now.”

iOS 7.1 has been in the hands of developers since mid-November. Five beta versions have come out since then, with the latest releasing at the beginning of February. The update will tweak visuals like the active background, revamp the keyboard, refine the icons for the Phone, FaceTime and Messages, and a change to the look of the phone dialer.

A mid-March release has been rumored for some time, but an RTM version or “Golden Master Build” has yet to be given to developers. The Golden Master version of iOS 7 was released to developers 10 days before the iPhone 5s was launched, so the shortened timeline may be accepted by Apple. Although, a streaming video app could be released without the iOS 7.1 update.

The iTunes Festival 2014 will stream live on iDevices March 11, beginning at 7:30 p.m. CST. This will be the first time the Apple-hosted music fesitival will be held in the US.