Apple Pinpoints Battery Problem In iPhone 4s

Not long after consumers picked up their new iPhone 4S smartphones last month they began reporting a problem with the battery life. It wasn't as long as they expected – certainly not as long as the previous model, the iPhone 4.

Now, Apple says it has found the problem in the device's iOS5 operating system.

"A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices,” Apple said in a statement. “We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks."

Apple started getting complaints from customers that the battery life drained from the 4S in less than 24 hours in some cases. Some users found work-arounds, such as turning off the smartphone's location settings.

The announcement from Apple that the battery problem is software-related comes as a relief to new iPhone users, who initially feared the devices new advanced features – such as its voice control system – might be causing the problem.

Apple Insider reports the company has released the first beta iOS5.1 for developers to begin testing. In addition to addressing the battery life issue, the update will reportedly add multitasking gestures for the original iPad, fix bugs with Documents in the Cloud, improve voice recognition for Australian users who are using the dictation feature and add other security enhancements.

Because the battery life issue involves the operating system, consumers should not have to take their iPhones in for any kind of repair, but simply download the update once it becomes available.

Meanwhile, CNET reports Sprint, which began supporting the iPhone with the release of the 4S, is investigating reports of slow iPhone 4S download speeds on its network. Sprint told the tech site that it has not been able to replicate the problem but takes seriously the complaints from its customers.