Much to the chagrin of Apple, the recent release of iOS 5 didn’t go off without a hitch. Hordes of iOS users reported battery-life issues, among other bugs. Fortunately a solution will arrive soon, and some beta testers are already sampling the software update.

A small number of iOS 5 users were given early access to an unreleased upgrade, iOS 5.0.1, according to 9to5Mac. The update is supposed to remedy the battery-life issues users have complained about since upgrading to iOS 5, as well as Siri issues, buggy iCloud documents and multitasking gestures on first-gen iPads.

Early participants won't be able to downgrade back to iOS 5, but will be able to update to the final version of the fix when it's released to iOS users at large.

After the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 debuted, an increasing number of users reported battery problems with their iPhones and iPads. Last week, Apple officially recognized the issue, saying they'd identified the offending bugs and would be delivering a software update "in a few weeks."

In addition to the early fix for members of the "AppleSeed" program, Apple Store employees also received a memo on how to deal with customers suffering from the iOS 5-related issues when they come into the store. Employees were instructed not to replace the devices, but to tell customers to wait a few weeks for the software update to arrive.

If you're one of the lucky few who got iOS 5.0.1 early, share in the comments (or shoot me an email) to let us know how it fares.