Apple's iOS 6 does not have a virtual limit on apps

(Credit: Apple)

There is no such limit in place to keep users of Apple's next major iOS release from installing 500 or more applications without ill effects on system performance, says a person familiar with the latest beta of the software.

Instead, the reported "virtual limit" on the number of applications users can install on Apple's next iOS may have been an isolated incident.

That information -- which CNET cannot test yet because iOS 6 is currently available only to developers who have signed a non-disclosure agreement -- contradicts a report from Mid Atlantic Consulting. Yesterday, the company made the claim that users who installed more than 500 apps on their iOS device running iOS 6 will experience severe slowdowns, as well as random rebooting. That report further claimed that those with 1,000 apps installed would not even be able to get their devices to start, adding that Apple had confirmed the issue, and was working on a fix.

CNET has contacted the author of the original report for more information on what testing was involved to reach that conclusion and we'll update this post when w... [Read more]