iOS 5 Release: What You Need To Know About Apple's Latest

The iPhone 5 isn't surfacing anytime soon, but Apple is offering another "5" fix with the release of its latest mobile operating system, iOS 5.

iOS 5, which will be available starting October 12, was unveiled back in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference and offers a slew of new features and updates, including deeper integration with Twitter, over-the-air updates, iMessages (a potential text message-killer and Apple's take on BBM), streamlined access to the phone's camera, and much more. According to Apple, iOS 5 comes with "over 200 new features."

"If the hardware is the brain and the sinew of our products, the software is their soul," said former Apple CEO Steve Jobs when he unveiled iOS 5, according to All Things D.

We've outlined a dozen things you need to know about iOS 5 in the slideshow below, which initially appeared here.

Excited for the new iOS, which will be available on iPhones, iPod touch devices, and iPads? Keep in mind that before you can download it, you'll need to update iTunes to iTunes 5.0 (read more about that here). Also check our guide to iOS 4 vs. iOS 5 for more on what's new.