AT&T begins training support staff on Apple's iOS 7 ahead of public release

There's nothing new in the training info that Apple itself hasn't already announced regarding iOS 7, a person familiar with the materials revealed. But the carrier is reportedly preparing its supportstaff for the fast approaching launch of iOS 7 to the general public.

The news comes as Apple is gearing up to hold a media event next Tuesday, where it is expected to introduce its new lineup of iPhones. Based on previous years' patterns, it's likely that iOS 7 will become available to the public in the week following Apple's event.

Apple has begun taking similar measures ahead of the launch of iOS, blocking AppleCare employee days off for a two-week span from Sept. 15 through 28. It's expected that iOS 7 will become available and two new iPhone models will launch during that time period.

In previous years, Apple has put its new iPhones in the hands of consumers on Fridays the week following the company's keynote event. This year, that would place the launch of the anticipated "iPhone 5S" and "iPhone 5C" on Sept. 20.

Last year, Apple made iOS 6 available to the public two days before the iPhone 5 went on sale. If the company were to follow the same pattern this year, iOS 7 would become available on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

It's likely that developers will be provided a golden master build of iOS 7 after next Tuesday's event. Golden master releases are proposed final builds of beta software issued to developers prior to public release.