Earlier today Stuff reported that, according to their source, Apple is planning to charge for iOS 4 upgrade on iPad. This is the original report:

“The top secret plans were whispered to Stuff by an anonymous source. There are no details of how much Apple will charge for the upgrade, but we’d expect in the region of £5.

Asked how sure they were about the forthcoming iOS 4 charge, our source replied, “Definite.” And we don’t think they’re wrong.”

Let me tell you what this won’t ever happen. First, as Engadget correctly remembered, the iPad OS upgrade policies told us back in March that the future major OS for iPad would be free.

“Apple will provide you any iPad OS software updates that it may release from time to time, up to and including the next major iPad OS software release following the version of iPad OS software that originally shipped from Apple on your iPad, for free. For example, if your iPad originally shipped with iPad 3.x software, Apple would provide you with any iPad OS software updates it might release up to and including the iPad 4.x software release. Such updates and releases may not necessarily include all of the new software features that Apple releases for newer iPad models.”

But more importantly, out of policies and agreements, this simple does not make sense. Apple is selling iPads like hotcakes, and once the fever will be gone and they’ll begin to sell a regular amount of units each months, they’ll need to keep users on board, interested in what’s going on. They need to release iOS 4 before the holiday season to boost sales, and they can’t just do it as a paid upgrade.

Seriously, I’d like to meet this anonymous source.