Apple has released iOS 5.0.1 for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The update promises better battery life, adds multitasking gestures to the original iPad, and fixes several bugs.

Update: While some users are reporting battery life improvements, others aren’t. Apple’s not done yet though. The company is reportedly continuing to investigate issues

The new software is available as a free update for the iPhone 3GS through iPhone 4S, 3rd generation or newer iPod touch, and all iPad models.

You can download the update through iTunes — or if you’re already running iOS 5.0 you can grab an over-the-air update on your device. Just open the Settings app, choose “General,” and then select “Software Update” to check for updates.

I didn’t see the software update right away on my device, but I rebooted my (recently dried out) iPod touch and tried again, and the update was available.

iOS 5.0.1

This is an incremental update, which means you only have to download 40.1MB to install the new software.

Jailbreakers beware

If you’re waiting for an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5 you might want to hold off on applying today’s update. Hackers have recently discovered an update in iOS 5.0 which may be used to enable an untethered jailbreak.

Unfortunately that exploit is likely patched in iOS 5.0.1. There’s also currently no easy way to downgrade a device from iOS 5.0.1 to iOS 5.0 — so until an exploit is found for the new operating system or a downgrade path is developed you should probably stay away from the update if you want to use the new jailbreak utilities when they’re available.

The good news is you can already perform a tethered jailbreak on iOS 5.0.1. That means you’ll need to connect your device to your computer and run the jailbreak software again any time you reboot your device, but at least you should get better battery life.

Brad Linder

Brad Linder is editor of Liliputing and Mobiputing. He's been tinkering with mobile tech for decades and writing about it since...