June 7, 2011 at 11:01 AM ET
Apple just barely finished announcing iOS 5, the next major version of its mobile operating system, and some sneaky folks have already managed to jailbreak it.
Jailbreaking — as the process of unlocking iOS devices so that they can run unauthorized software is called — is of course frowned upon by Apple. Naturally this means that the company tries to make it as difficult as possible for iOS hackers — or "jailbreakers" — to play around with its software.
There are several popular jailbreaking communities though, and those communities frequently release software which anyone with basic computer skills can use to unlock his or her device. And a member of one such community has announced via Twitter that iOS 5 has already been jailbroken:
This initial jailbreak process is rather limited though — it requires that the iOS device be connected to a computer each time it is booted up — but considering that iOS 5 was just announced on Monday and won't even be publicly released until the fall, I'd say that the jailbreakers are already ahead of the game.
Related stories:
- Steve Jobs clears up rumors about iCloud
- Apple unveils iOS 5: Here's what's new
- Mac OS X Lion: Only available through Mac App Store
Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook.