Along with the new iPhones announced last night – iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, it looks like Apple has also released the Gold Master aka the final version of iOS 7 to developers. Available via a totally new update via iTunes (no OTA update available), the GM seed version 11A465 is the final testing version of the operating system and is usually the final product, but Apple might add in minor changes here and there. While this install is generally very safe to use since it’s the final product, according to the Apple Developer’s page, iOS 7 GM Seed is a pre-release version and devices updated to it will not be able to restore to earlier versions of iOS, so it makes sense to wait for the official release (scheduled for 18 September 2013) since it has been rumored that Apple is bricking non-developer iOS 7 users.
If you missed the show early this morning, Apple has put up the entire event on its page that is available for public viewing. As with all Apple stuffs, you will need to have QuickTime 7 installed in order to view the video on Windows, or run on Safari 4 or later on Mac OS X v10.6, iOS 4.2 and above for iOS devices or a 2nd or 3rd generation Apple TV running on 5.0.2 or later.
Finally in case you didn’t notice, Apple will be shipping free copies of selected Apple apps for all new iOS devices including iWork, iPhoto and iMovie. iWork apps include Pages, Keynote and Numbers. These apps are free for devices activated after 1 September 2013 and Apple will prompt users to download these apps during the set up process. Normally, Pages, Numbers and Keynote costs USD$9.99 each while iPhoto and iMovie costs USD$4.99 per app so it definitely is a piece of good news to see Apple shipping them for free with new devices.
(Source: 9to5Mac, AllThingsD, Apple)
