Champing at the bit for more iPhone 5 and iOS 5 news? We've got your fix for both today. First up is a report from BGR that may contain details on the iOS 5 beta schedule and possible iPhone 5 release info. According to the site's "trusted source," Apple is planning to release iOS beta 5 on this Friday, September 16th, which would be just over two weeks after beta 7's launch. The tipster claims that the Gold Master version (aka the version that should be ready for public consumption) will be available for testing a week later on September 23rd. Then Apple will request carriers give the GM build their stamp of approval by October 5th, which if true, could support the rumors that the iPhone 5 is set to arrive early next month.
Keeping up with the iNews, the folks at TUAW have been told by a Sprint Nextel sales associate that employees of the Now Network are now being briefed for an iPhone 4 launch next month. The briefing reportedly shows that the iPhone 4 will be available with all of Sprint's current smartphone data plans and will be subject to the same $10 premium data fee that owners all other Sprint smartphones are charged. The bad news is that, according to the same associate, Sprint may not be launching the iPhone 5 until next year, possibly in the spring. That claim goes against recent reports that Sprint will be launching both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 in October. The associate suggested that Sprint may soon offer a 4G iPad, but it's not clear whether the person was talking about an iPad/4G hotspot combo or something else entirely.
It'd be kind of strange to see Sprint launch the iPhone 4 while AT&T and Verizon are putting the iPhone 5 on their shelves, but such a move would still give Sprint users their first iPhone, which I suspect would be good enough for many customers on Now Network. Still, it's worth mentioning that all of this is very much a rumor at this point, so you Sprint folk pining for an iPhone 5 shouldn't begin plotting a jump to Verizon or AT&T just yet.
