iOS 5 Gold Master Expected to Ship Soon

The iOS 5 development cycle has been atypical in terms of length compared to previous releases, but according to a new report, the gold master (final) will be shipping to device assemblers within the next week or two, which means the OS could be deployed to regular users as soon as a couple of weeks.

It could also mean that there’s a chance the iPhone 5 could be launching alongside it, although the rumor-mill has been all over the map with regards to its release date. iOS 4 was released one full month in advance of the iPhone 4, however, so we may see the same roll-out occur here.

Details are slim on just what it is that iOS 5 will bring to the table, though advanced iMessage capabilities (sending messages from iDevice to iDevice) and tight integration with Apple’s recently-launched iCloud service are two major features sure to be included. Other improvements are rumored to affect the notification center, reminders, newstand, music, camera and other commonly-used i-device features.