Apple just released the new version of iOS, iOS 5.1, through Software Update. Notable new features in this update include Siri support for Japanese users, a new camera shortcut, and new Camera app for iPad. Full changelog below.

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be limited during initial rollout)
• Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream
• Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
• Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces
• Redesigned Camera app for iPad
• Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers
• Audio for TV shows and movies on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer
• Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30 second rewind for iPad
• Updated AT&T network indicator
• Addresses bugs affecting battery life
• Fixes an issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls

At the moment of writing this, the update server can’t be reached with iTunes, but the over-the-air update is working through iOS devices. We’ll update this story with more details as we install iOS 5.1 on our devices. Read more

Rumored for the past two years, the new iPad featuring a higher resolution Retina display is finally here, and it’s simply called “iPad “. Announced at Apple’s media event in San Francisco a few minutes ago (our liveblog and March 7 news hub), the new device features the same design of the iPad 2 (flat aluminum back with tapered edges), and it comes in two colors, black & white. Looking at the initial photos of the new iPad, a less tech-savvy eye wouldn’t notice any difference from the current-gen model. The new iPad, however, is packed with completely new hardware components inside, so let’s take a look. Read more

At the media event in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced an update to the Apple TV. The updated model will support 1080p playback, newly added iTunes in the Cloud for movies and TV shows which will allow users to watch their purchased content on-demand in 1080p definition if available. The new Apple TV ships with a new streamlined interface that will make it easier to navigate between apps, browse photos and media from an iCloud account, and initiate playback.

“People are going to love streaming movies and TV shows in 1080p with the new Apple TV, and photos look beautiful displayed at the maximum resolution of your TV,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Apple TV is easier than ever to use with its new icon-based interface and the ability to access your purchased movies, TV shows and music right from iCloud.”

Apple has also prepared several content providers to stream HD quality content to the new Apple TV. Netflix, Vimeo, and of course movies and TV shows available through iTunes will be in HD for consumers on launch day. Apple also stated that there will be over 15,000 movies and over 90,000 TV episodes available on the iTunes Store. Just some of the other notable apps that will be prominently displayed on the Apple TV’s new icon based interface includes YouTube, Flickr, and the Wall Street Journal.

The Apple TV also gained greater integration with iCloud today. Now users can purchase, not just rent, movies and TV episodes from the Apple TV and watch them on their all of their Apple devices. iCloud makes it incredibly easy to access all of your digital content regardless of what device you are using.

The new Apple TV will remain only $99, and it will be available on March 16. Pre-orders for the new Apple TV will begin today.

For additional information, check out the Apple press release on the new Apple TV.

Update: MacRumors is reporting that the 5.0 software update for the current (second generation) Apple TV is live and available for download. They also state that not only has Netflix rolled out 1080p streaming but Netflix also has a new billing option that allows customers to pay for their Netflix subscriptions through their iTunes Store accounts.

Update #2: From the short amount of time I have spent with the 5.0 update to the (second-gen) Apple TV, I find it to be a really great upgrade for existing Apple TV owners. I love the new movies and TV shows in the Cloud feature. To test it out, I selected the Movies icon on the home screen, browsed to my purchased videos and found a couple of movies I forgot I had purchased well over a year ago. Selecting my Halloween (2007) movie started it as if I had just rented in through iTunes. The process was simple, fast, and very well implemented.

Screenshots of new 5.0 Software.

Update #3 Ars Technica has details on the processor inside the new Apple TV model. It’s not the same of the new iPad.

We asked whether the third-gen Apple TV had the same A5X processor as that in the new iPad (as was previously rumored), but an Apple spokesperson told us that it has a “single-core version of the A5” and it’s not the same as what’s in the iPad. The CPU is capable of handling 1080p HD video. The spokesperson also claimed that users “only need an 8-10 megabit Internet connection” in order to take advantage of 1080p movies from iTunes, but speaking as someone with experience with the second-generation Apple TV at a mere 720p, this depends highly upon your individual ISP.

It seems like only yesterday when I took a wrong turn at a shopping mall and ended up waiting in line for some magical device I knew nothing about. Granted, there were lots of people wrapped around an Apple Store, but how was I to know Apple was launching a new iPad that was as thin as a pencil, had a faster processor, and could be individualized with those foldable Smart Covers? And if I could predict the future, it sounds like I’ll be waiting in some longish line again for another flat computer that has an even better display, an even faster processor, and surprise features that’ll dazzle us before the glow of a blue Apple retail shirt.

I already know most of you already have your wallets out. Some of you are checking the source code on Apple.com for any imminent hints, while the rest of you are furiously refreshing Apple’s store page. Although, I hope you’ll read our predictions instead (we’re half intelligent, half coffee-addled). But if you’re looking for the real skinny, we’re just going to have to wait for Wednesday. We’ll be here on March 7th: still rambling, still highly caffeinated, and probably drunk on iPad 3 rumors… or is it iPad HD? iPad 2S?

To find out what the name of the next iPad will be, tune in tomorrow at 12:30 pm EST when Don and I will be kicking things off early to answer your questions and engage in general mischief before the iPad event. Whether Apple livestreams the event or not, you’ll get all of our flavorful commentary and up to the minute information about the crazy stuff being presented on stage.

Don’t forget to refresh the MacStories homepage regularly tomorrow — the rest of the MacStories team will be writing articles as fast as these products and numbers and shiny things are being announced! If you can’t be in the now, you can always catch up with the announcements later in the day. Don’t worry — it’ll all be here.

Bookmark this page and set a date for Wednesday, March 7th, for our realtime coverage.

Apple Event Time Zones

13:00 — New York, New York
10:00 — San Francisco, California
08:00 — Honolulu, Hawaii
05:00 — Sydney, Australia
03:00 — Tokyo, Japan
02:00 — Shanghai, China
23:30 — New Delhi, India
22:00 — Moscow, Russia
19:00 — Rome, Italy
18:00 — London, England

Don’t see your city? You can use this link to get your exact time.

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