Apple Has Already Started Testing iOS 6.0

While we wait eagerly for Apple to release iOS 5.1, we have just received news that Apple has already started testing iOS 6.0 - Apple's next generation mobile operating system (not very surprising).

Ars Technica reports that they've observed iPads running iOS 6.0 originating from Apple's headquarters visiting their website, based on the browser user agents in their server logs.

we began looking at iPad user agents coming from Apple's corporate IP block in Cupertino and discovered that Apple appears to be surfing the Web using iPads running what looks like iOS 6.0. The whole listing shows iPads running iOS 5, iOS 5.0.1 (the current public release), iOS 5.1 (the upcoming release currently available to developers), and iOS 6. The iPads that appear to be running iOS 6 are also using a slightly newer build of WebKit—the older OSes all show WebKit 534.46, while the ones claiming to be iOS 6 show WebKit build 535.8

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Last year, Apple gave a preview of iOS 5 and also released the beta version of the iOS 5 to developers during the 2011 WWDC in June and released it to the public in October.  So we expect Apple to follow a similar schedule this year as well.

However, Ars Technica speculates that Apple could give us a preview of iOS 6.0 at the iPad 3 media event. We won't bet on it as we expect Apple to preview iOS 5.1 at next week's media event.

Apple's next generation iPad - iPad 3 that will be unveiled at the media event on March 7th is expected to come pre-installed with iOS 5.1 and Apple is also expected to release iOS 5.1 to the public on or around March 9th.

Ars Technica has also observed device with a screen resolution of 2048x1536 visiting their website, which is the same resolution rumored for iPad 3's Retina Display.

What's on your iOS 6.0 wish list?