Some news stories called it a "surprise release." Others called it a "mystery release." For something that's key to its mobile app ecosystem, you'd think Apple would be a little more forthcoming about the latest developer preview of iOS.
The company recently brought out iOS 8.4.1, which may seem less important than the forthcoming iOS 9, but anything Apple releases is bound to generate developer attention.
As many noted on Twitter, however, iOS 8.4.1 raised more questions than answers:
#Apple puts out #iOS 8.4.1 w no #description http://t.co/x0ctDHhD1G pic.twitter.com/tu4HOLp9gT
— appPicker (@appPicker) July 16, 2015
Some noted that the lest mobile OS update came in tandem with a desktop release as well:
OS X 10.10.5 Beta 1 as well as iOS 8.4.1 Beta 1. Wonder what's new.
— Holger Eilhard (@holgr) July 14, 2015
Given the company's renewed push into digital music, there was thought that the latest iOS would bring some improvements to the user experience:
What's in iOS 8.4.1? Just Apple Music fixes?
— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo) July 14, 2015
iOS 8.4.1 beta? Let's hope this is just for Apple Music.
— Peter Steinberger (@steipete) July 14, 2015
@steipete hmm no release notes
— CarusoApps (@CarusoApps) July 14, 2015
There were also a lot of non-developers on Twitter who speculated that iOS 8.4.1 was a way for Apple to fix flaws that allowed third parties to jailbreak their iPhones, but nothing was confirmed. The lack of information left devs sounding annoyed, but resigned:
Apple: Here's a iOS 8.4.1 beta for you to test with. Developers: What's changed in it? Apple: ... Developers: Hello? Apple: ... *sigh*
— Dennis Munsie (@dmunsie) July 15, 2015