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It's just a few months till we're likely to see the release of iOS 10, the next major update to Apple's iPhone and iPad operating system. The rumour mill about iOS 10 is going into overdrive, with whispers on how Siri will work in iOS 10 as well as changes to security. 

No matter what it finally features, iOS 10 is real and is already being tested internally at Apple. That's the conclusion of 9to5Mac, the popular Apple site that has already seen some traffic apparently from the updated operating system. Although device details can be faked, the timing of first tests would tally with what we know about the likely release date of iOS 10.

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Our friends at MacStories have put together an excellent mock-up video of the features they would like to see in iOS 10. Take a look at it, and see whether you think they have it right.

iOS 10 release date

In line with previous releases, we'd expect to see iOS 10 demonstrated in a big keynote speech at WWDC 2016, which Apple has confirmed will happen on 13 June. It will then be released to developers first, and the general public in September or October, depending in part on the release date of the iPhone 7. Apple tends to time its major iOS updates to coincide with the iPhone's product release schedule.

However, there's one interesting possibility being floated by some pundits about the iOS 10 release date. Perhaps, Dan Moren at Macworld US argues, the release of iOS 9.3 heralds a new update strategy of smaller, more incremental updates rather than major releases. Is this is true, then iOS 10 might see just one or two major features, with other smaller ones being rolled out throughout the year.

One feature that's strongly rumoured is an interesting integration between Siri and voicemail. According to a report from Business Insider, Apple employees have been testing a service that allows Siri to answer calls for you, and transcribe a message that's then sent to you via text. Although in theory Apple could implement this system without updating the OS, as it's mostly done server-side, the company has tended to add new Siri features in line with OS updates. 

Siri may also be able to recognise who is talking to it. A recent patent issued to Apple entitled "User profiling for voice input processing" details a method for using a user recognition engine to customise how Siri reacts to a specific person. For example, this would allow Siri to recognise that a particular person had accessed specific content on the device in the past, and so favour that content in its replies. Although this would obviously be most useful at present in the new Apple TV, it could point towards the potential for multi-user support coming in other iOS devices next year. 

iOS 10: Security

According to RedmondPie, iOS 10 could be about to make jailbreaking your iPhone a lot harder, if not entirely impossible. The site reports that Apple is looking to make parts of the file system inaccessible even for administrator-level users, which would eliminate most common methods of jailbreaking. Apple has certainly spent a lot of time and effort plugging the security holes that jailbreaking uses, but we're a little skeptical about this one. 

iOS 10: iPad Pro features

One thing we're very likely to see in iOS 10 is more new professional features for the iPads. With both the iPad Pro 12.9in and iPad Pro 9.7in models now released, and Apple pushing the iPads hard as replacements for aging PCs, we're almost certain to see more features that make the most of the bigger screens and more powerful processors of the "professional" iPad.