Not much is known at this time about what iOS 5 will bring to Apple’s devices, but one this that is becoming certain is that Apple plans to bring software updates directly to your device “over-the-air”.

Currently, you have to plug into iTunes, wait for a 600MB+ download to finish and then proceed with the backup, sync and update of your device. With iOS 5, Apple could send updates like this right over the 3G network. The problem as you might imagine is the 600MB file size!

With AT&T already capping their data transfer rates, consumers could potentially exceed their cap without even knowing how or why. This is all of course if the carriers go for the idea anyway. One way that Apple could “sell” the idea to them is to have many more, smaller updates be released over various lengths of time.

On the surface, this idea doesn’t sound so bad. In fact, it sounds rather convenient for those on the go, but that’s all relative as to how the updates would implement. As it stands now, updates require the phone to not be in use and then a full restart follows the software installation. I can’t imagine what it might be like if iOS 5 needed to restart every day after seemingly insignificant updates. However, for anyone that runs OSX knows, there are few updates that don’t require a system restart!

Another question up for debate is whether a new iPhone will be released with iOS 5. AT&T has already been quoted as saying: “Apple has informed us that they do not plan to release the iPhone in the June to July timeframe.”

Others have speculated that a new iPhone might be in the works for a September release and it may only be a refresher phone much like the 3GS was in comparison to the 3G. Personally, it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll be waiting either way. I like the iPhone 4 and I can’t see any major reason to upgrade anytime soon.