Rumor: Apple to add remote diagnostic tool in iOS 5.0

It’s always nifty when you can get something fixed remotely.

Per the cool cats at HardMac, Apple has allegedly internally announced to its employees that the new remote diagnostic tool has been completed. Presumably, these features could arrive with this fall’s release of iOS 5, the next major upgrade to Apple’s mobile operating system.

The entirely online system will be triggered by a special URL sent via e-mail or entered manually. When a user visits the website and agrees, Mobile Safari will conduct internal checks of the system and send that data to Apple’s servers.

To ensure user privacy, the only personal data that will be sent to Apple will include its unique identifier, or UDID, as well as the name of the owner, the report said.

The list of information to be shared by the diagnostic system reportedly includes:
Battery health, including current charge level, amount of time since the last charge, minimum level to which the battery was discharged, iOS version installed and whether the handset was turned off normally the last time.

Apple’s iOS 5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch is set to be released this fall. It will pack more than 200 new user features, including Notification Center, iMessage, and Newsstand.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.