iPad users could be vulnerable to critical flaws in the device’s operating system until it is upgraded to Apple’s latest iOS 4 platform in the Autumn.
The iOS 4 update, which was released for the iPhone 3G and 3GS on Monday, patched 65 bugs from the previous version of the software, CIO said.
Of the 65 bugs fixed, 35 were listed as critical, because they could be used to hijack devices through “arbitrary code execution”.
However, the iPad is not due to receive the upgrade until later this year, leaving it vulnerable to some, or all, of the bugs.
Most of the security flaws were in the open-source WebKit browser engine used to power the Safari browser. The same engine is used in the desktop version of Safari, available for the Mac OS X and Windows, and in Google Chrome.
News of the potential bugs, and a recent security glitch, hasn’t quelled the popularity of the device, with Apple announcing yesterday it has sold three-million iPads in the 80 days since it launched in the US.
The firm looks on-track to match that figure with its latest iPhone, stocks of which are already running low ahead of its official launch tomorrow.
US carrier AT&T says it will only be able to satisfy demand for pre-ordered iPhone 4’s in its stores, and won’t have any to sell ‘off-the-shelf’ until June 29.
Prospective buyers who haven’t pre-ordered will be given the option of having the iPhone 4 shipped to their homes.
Demand for the device was so high it crashed AT&T’s online ordering system last week, when it received 600,000 orders within 24 hours.
Positive reviews of the new device suggest it is worth waiting for.
Walt Mossberg of the Wall St Journal said the device “keeps Apple in the lead in the smartphone wars,” while Engadget’s Josh Topolsky said it is “the best smartphone on the market right now,” All Things Digital reports.