feature · introduced
Precut ringtone purchases
documentedconfirmed
The iPhone store offered more than twenty thousand precut ringtones for individual purchase at launch.
Recorded at Public
- [1] Apple Premieres iTunes 9 · iTunes Store on iPhone
Release record
iOS 3.1
Full article
Public release
- Recorded milestones
- 1
- Beta cycle
- —
- Average interval
- —
- Public release
- Sep 9, 2009
Release notes
Overview
Editorial synthesis with inline references and a source ledger when citations are available.
Apple’s dated records place iPhone OS 3.1 on September 9, 2009. Apple’s launch material ties it to home-screen organization in iTunes, more selective media and photo syncing, Genius Mixes and Genius for Apps, direct ringtone purchases, MobileMe remote lock, and anti-phishing protection.[1][2][3]
The matching security advisory covers crafted audio, Exchange passcode policy, deleted mail in Spotlight, recovery-mode access, SMS resilience, password display, credential leakage, cross-site scripting, code execution, and deceptive internationalized URLs. Claims specific to iPod touch are not generalized to every iPhone.[4][5]
Source ledger
References
Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.
- Apple Premieres iTunes 9
Apple Newsroom · 2009-09-09T00:00:00Z · Improved syncing and iPhone Store ringtones
- Apple security updates (15-Jan-2008 to 03-Dec-2009)
Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-30 · iOS 3.1 — 09 September 2009
- Apple Introduces New iPod touch Lineup
Apple Newsroom · 2009-09-09T00:00:00Z · iPhone 3.1 features and update availability
- About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch
Apple Support · 2009-09-09T00:00:00Z · iOS 3.1 security content
- Apple Introduces New iPod touch Lineup
Apple Newsroom · 2009-09-09T00:00:00Z · iPod touch product and pricing qualifications
- Apple Introduces New iPod touch Lineup
Apple Newsroom · 2009-09-09T00:00:00Z · iPhone 3.1 features
- Apple Premieres iTunes 9
Apple Newsroom · 2009-09-09T00:00:00Z · iPhone OS 3.1 integration
Documented & observed
Changes in this version
Source-linked features, fixes, known issues, removals, and community-observed behavior recorded across this version’s appearances and verified builds.
Release changes
Changed in this release
Features, fixes, removals, and regressions first observed in this release record.
security · changed
MobileMe remote lock and anti-phishing
documentedconfirmed
Apple identified MobileMe remote lock and anti-phishing behavior as part of the 3.1 software, with service and device applicability preserved.
Recorded at Public
- [1] Apple Introduces New iPod touch Lineup · iPhone 3.1 software features
security · fixed
Web credential and deceptive-URL protections
documentedconfirmed
WebKit stopped placing URL credentials in referral headers and rendered known look-alike domain characters in Punycode.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · WebKit — CVE-2009-2797 and CVE-2009-2199
enhancement · changed
More selective media and photo syncing
documentedconfirmed
Apple added music selection by artist and genre plus photo selection by Events and Faces, alongside broader media-sync improvements.
Recorded at Public
- [1] Apple Premieres iTunes 9 · Improved syncing with iPhone OS 3.1
security · fixed
Recovery Mode passcode boundary
documentedconfirmed
Apple repaired a heap overflow that could let someone with physical access bypass a passcode and reach user data.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · Recovery Mode — CVE-2009-2795
security · fixed
SMS arrival resilience
documentedconfirmed
The update fixed a null-pointer condition through which a malicious SMS could interrupt service.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · Telephony — CVE-2009-2815
security · fixed
Exchange passcode timeout enforcement
documentedconfirmed
The update aligned the user's Require Passcode options with the server-defined maximum inactivity timeout.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · Exchange Support — CVE-2009-2794
enhancement · changed
Home-screen app organization in iTunes
documentedconfirmed
iTunes 9 could organize an iPhone home-screen app layout and reproduce the arrangement during synchronization.
Recorded at Public
- [1] Apple Premieres iTunes 9 · Improved syncing with iPhone OS 3.1
security · fixed
Password undo privacy
documentedconfirmed
Apple stopped a deleted password character from becoming visible again when the deletion was undone.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · UIKit — CVE-2009-2796
security · fixed
CoreAudio memory safety
documentedconfirmed
Apple corrected a heap overflow that could terminate an application or execute code when a malicious audio file was opened.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · CoreAudio — CVE-2009-2206
feature · introduced
Genius Mixes
documentedconfirmed
Genius Mixes could generate up to twelve ongoing mixes based on Apple’s analysis of submitted music libraries.
Recorded at Public
- [1] Apple Introduces New iPod touch Lineup · Genius Mixes
- [2] Apple Premieres iTunes 9 · Genius Mixes
feature · introduced
Genius for Apps
documentedconfirmed
Apple listed Genius for Apps among the user-facing benefits available with the 3.1 update.
Recorded at Public
- [1] Apple Introduces New iPod touch Lineup · 3.1 software update features
security · fixed
Deleted Mail exclusion from Spotlight
documentedconfirmed
Apple prevented Spotlight from exposing email that had already been deleted from Mail folders.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · MobileMail — CVE-2009-2207
security · fixed
WebKit script and memory safety
documentedconfirmed
Apple repaired parent/top object handling and numeric character-reference processing that could cross security origins, terminate an app, or execute code.
Recorded at Public
- [1] About the security content of iOS 3.1 and iOS 3.1.1 for iPod touch · WebKit — CVE-2009-1724 and CVE-2009-1725
Milestones
Release history
Every recorded channel appearance in chronological order. Open an appearance for any available build, scope, notes, and sources.
Public release
Public
Full articleEditorially verifiedThe public iPhone OS 3.1 release expanded iTunes organization, syncing, recommendations, ringtones, MobileMe controls, and anti-phishing behavior while repairing audio, enterprise, mail, recovery, telephony, password, and web security defects.
- Availability
- available
- Sources
- 21 linked
Historical context
Cycle comparison
Pace, intervals, and duration compared with earlier releases on the same platform.
Historical avg for .1 releases
47 days, 5.2 milestones
Based on 21 previous iOS .1 releases