Apple updates iTunes Festival app for SXSW, but no iOS 7.1 in sight

After days of speculation and rumours, Apple has finally updated its iTunes Festival app on the iTunes App Store. Apart from featuring an iOS 7-style app design and reworked UI, it also supports concert streaming from SXSW, the Texas venue for the first iTunes Festival to be held in US from March 11 to March 15.

The description on iTunes of what's new in version 5.0 of the iTunes Festival app reads, "Refreshed design. Updated to feature iTunes Festival at SXSW." The app requires iOS 7.0 to run, contradicting previous rumours that it would require iOS 7.1 update to run.

"The iTunes Festival has made a tradition of hosting some of the biggest names in music for free, intimate performances. This app is an interactive multimedia accompaniment to the event with features that are available for a limited time, including streaming and on-demand video, photos, and more," states the general description.

Available for iPhone, iPad and iTouch users, the app is sized at 28.2MB. Interestingly, earlier this week, it was rumoured that the iTunes Festival app would require iOS 7.1, and its launch would usher in the arrival of the much-awaited update to the operating system.

"Apple's first iTunes Festival in the U.S. starts a week from today at SXSW in Austin. Apple is going to stream the performances to iOS devices using an app, but I've heard from a little birdie that the app requires iOS 7.1 (which explains why the app isn't out yet). That means iOS 7.1 should ship any day now," stated John Gruber, a noted Apple pundit, on his website, Daring Fireball, recently.

iOS 7.1 is expected to bring in support for CarPlay, the newly unveiled feature that allows users to plug their phones into compatible vehicles in order to control entertainment, navigation, and call-handling features via voice commands and steering-mounted controls.

The iOS 7.1 update is also expected to bring new icons, a new animation for "Slide to Unlock", improvements to various native apps including Calendar and Siri, and various other visual and functional enhancements.