Last week, numerous publications ( including Ars ) reported seeing references to iOS 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 in their site analytics pages. iOS versions 5, 6, and 7 only saw one major point update apiece during their respective lifespans, so evidence of three different updates being tested simultaneously just weeks after the release of iOS 8.0 came as a surprise.

It looks like we'll be seeing the first of those updates sooner rather than later. Today Apple pushed out the second beta build of iOS 8.1 in as many weeks to its registered developers, and the final version of the software is rumored to be released at or near Apple's event later this month.

Obviously such a quick turnaround time will make iOS 8.1 a smaller update than iOS 7.1, which gestated for around six months and fixed a host of problems when finally released. But the update is still rumored to include a handful of significant features—here's a list of the most important additions.

Apple Pay

Apple announced Apple Pay at its iPhone reveal last month, but told us it wouldn't actually launch until October. Rumor sites digging around in the iOS 8.1 beta code have found multiple references to the service , and an October launch matches up with the rumored release window for the final version of iOS 8.1.

Apple Pay's most prominent feature is support for contactless payments using the new NFC chip in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. To pay, users tap their phones on the NFC reader with a finger on the iPhone's TouchID sensor. The other feature allows Passbook to store credit and debit cards that can then be used with Apple Pay-compatible apps. Apple doesn't send your actual credit card information to the retailers or collect the information itself, adding a layer of protection against the card-leaking retailer hacks that have become distressingly common.

Both of these Apple Pay features rely on hardware specific to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus—the NFC sensor and a "Secure Element" that protects credit card information. Users of older iPhones won't be able to benefit immediately, though the iPhone 5, 5C, and 5S can support the contactless payment part of Apple Pay when paired with an Apple Watch. Apple Pay won't be a part of iOS 8.1 for the vast majority of iOS devices, though millions of iPhone 6 buyers stand to benefit.

Handoff for SMS messages

Most of the "Continuity" features that Apple announced at WWDC launched with iOS 8 last month, with a notable exception. Though calls to your iPhone can be passed along to iPads and Macs running iOS 8.0 or OS X Yosemite, SMS messages cannot.

SMS handoff is another feature Apple says is "coming in October," making it a natural candidate for inclusion in iOS 8.1. Some sites are already reporting that the feature is working in the iOS 8.1 betas. After the feature enabled, standard texts should be delivered to all devices signed into your Apple account, just as iMessages do.

Since the final version OS X Yosemite is all-but-certain to launch at Apple's event later this month, it makes sense that Apple would want to have all of the Continuity features enabled and working properly.

Support for new, TouchID-equipped iPads

New Apple hardware usually comes with a new iOS version that enables support for that hardware. iOS 7.0.3 was issued on the same day that the iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini were announced, for example, and all of the tablets in Apple's hands-on area were already running that version of the software.

The iOS 8.1 betas are already spilling the beans on certain features of the new iPads, most notably a new TouchID sensor. TouchID was added to the iPhone 5S a month or so before the iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini launched, but rumors at the time suggested that Apple was having a hard time manufacturing them. This could explain why the feature was absent from last year's tablets, but it's a natural fit for this year's models.

Various stability and bug fixes

Though my experiences with iOS 8.0 has generally been pretty good, you're occasionally going to run into weird problems with new iOS versions early in their lives. Sometimes it's just little weird stuff—I've had some strange problems using Control Center from the lock screen on my iPhone 6, for example. Sometimes it totally disappears until I unlock the phone. Daring Fireball's John Gruber tried to change his wallpaper and ended up needing to do a full restore of his phone. Others have noticed strange bugs in new features like HealthKit and the Health app. These bugs aren't always repeatable and not everyone will run into the same ones, but they're usually there lurking underneath the surface.

iOS 8.0.2 fixed a few bugs (including the big one introduced in iOS 8.0.1) but iOS 8.1 has spent more time in development, and as such should squash even more. Though you shouldn't get your hopes up, we're also hoping for improved performance on the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2, and other devices that use the Apple A5 chip. Our original research on the topic was circulated widely and followed up by others who also noticed some slowdown, and Apple managed to improve the iPhone 4's performance when it released iOS 7.1.

As for iOS 8.2 and 8.3, we can only guess what new features they'll bring and what bugs they'll fix. It's a fair bet that one of them will accompany the launch of the Apple Watch next year, since the watches rely on iPhone tethering to work. We'll keep our ears to the ground, and when the final version of iOS 8.1 is released we'll be sure to give it a thorough test drive.