iOS 5 battery fix gets mixed reviews--plus more fuel for Apple rumor mill

Apple surprised users this week by delivering its battery-life-fixing update to iOS 5 sooner than expected. But complaints about the problem continued.

The update arrived a little more than a week after Apple first acknowledged that some users were, in fact, running into problems with battery life after upgrading to the newer version of iOS. Apple then promised to deliver a software update to fix the issue, which the company said would be here "in a few weeks."

Instead, the update came just eight days later, on both iTunes and as the first over-the-air update on devices--a feature that was added as part of iOS 5.

But the update doesn't seem to be a fix-all for the problem. Yesterday, numerous users complained that the issue still existed, and some even said it was worse. Apple responded by saying the fix had addressed most aspects of the problem but that the company was continuing to investigate "a few remaining issues."

Besides attempting to tackle the battery-life situation, iOS 5.0.1 brings multitasking gestures to owners of the original iPad, fixes a security issue for iPad 2 users with a Smart Cover, and brings an improved iPhone 4S dictation feature to Australian users.

Read on for a rundown of everything else that happened this week in Apple land.

Apple Talk Weekly rounds up of some of the top Apple-related news and rumors. It appears every Saturday morning and is curated by CNET's Apple reporter, Josh Lowensohn.

News

Apple settles split cord MagSafe lawsuit
Apple this week reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit targeting older models of its MagSafe power adapters that had a nasty habit of splitting near where the cord met the magnetic housing. Those who bought a replacement may now be entitled to a full or partial refund. Apple has also listed information on what the problem looks like and what users should do with their damaged adapters.

Apple begins selling unlocked iPhone 4S in the U.S.
Without much ado, Apple began selling the unlocked version of the iPhone 4S in the U.S. through its online store yesterday. The phone can be purchased by users on GSM networks without signing a new contract with their carrier. That luxury comes at a price however, with the 16GB model running $649, the 32GB version at $749, and the 64GB model for $849. Worth noting is that this version does not work with CDMA networks like Verizon and Sprint. Apple sold unlocked versions of the iPhone 4S in other countries from the get-go.

Apple's iOS Store app adds pay with phone
Apple updated its Apple Store app this week with a rather neat trick. The new feature lets you buy items within stores using the company's EasyPay system. The feature doesn't work for big ticket items like iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. Instead it's for the small stuff, like accessories, which can be bought after being scanned with the iPhone's camera. The other new option that came with the update was the addition of in-store pickup, letting you buy an item from home for later retrieval in one of Apple's stores--something Apple recently added to its normal online store.

Hidden features spotted in iOS 5
A pair of hidden iOS 5 features were unearthed this week, the first being the much-rumored but hidden panorama mode in Apple's iOS camera application. That was dug out by developer Conrad Kramer, who posted instructions on how you can turn it on by tweaking a preferences file then resyncing your phone. The other feature is an autocorrect tweak that adds a list of autocorrect suggestions on top of the keyboard, similar to what's on Google's Android keyboard. Just like the panorama mode, that takes some tweaking in preferences files to get things working.

iPhone 4S preorders in Hong Kong sell out in 10 minutes
Apple's iPhone 4S went on sale in the U.S. and a number of other countries last month, but Hong Kong got the gadget only this week. The phone sold out of preorders in 10 minutes, later leading to lines some 3,000 people long.

Here's news agency AFP's video of the line forming: