On December 3rd Apple released the iOS 6.1 beta 3 firmware with an expiry date of Friday December 28th, 2012 at 12AM (GMT). This specific date was the same day iOS 6 beta 2 expired and generally when this happens it means Apple is planning to release the specific beta version sometime before that date. That is unless a new beta comes around with a new expiry date.

Sure enough, today Apple released the iOS 6.1 beta 4 firmware and it foiled my previous prediction. iH8Sn0w has just tweeted that iOS 6.1 beta 4 expires on Monday January 28, 2013 at 12AM (GMT). The previous iOS 6 firmware had an expiry date of September 30th and was released September 19th. This represents an 11 days span between the expiry date of the firmware and the actual public release of it. As the expiry date of iOS 6.1 is set for the end of January, I think it is pretty safe to say we will not see its release until then.

iOS 6.1 Beta 4 Expiry Date

Why does Apple implement expiry timers into beta firmwares? Well, expiry timers on beta firmwares are to ensure developers who update to one of the beta firmwares either upgrade to the next beta or the official firmware when it is released. If you do no upgrade to the next firmware version in time your device will be placed in Recovery Mode.

Do you believe that Apple is still on track to release the iOS 6.1 firmware in December? Or do you also think that its release date has been pushed back to January. Drop us a line in the comments section below and let us know. Don’t forget, that if you notice any new changes in the iOS 6.1 beta 4 firmware, we would love to hear about them.