Apple Inc on Thursday released a software update for its iOS 5 operating system to fix complaints on the performance of the new iPhone 4S battery.

Apple, after facing a rash of complaints on the new phone's short battery life, had promised earlier to release an update to address the issue.

The software update also addresses some security issues, including a flaw in the operating system that may allow hackers to build apps that secretly install programs to steal data. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco)