iOS 13 release time: When the new iPhone update arrives and how to download it

Apple is about to release iOS 13, the latest major update to the iPhone operating system.

The update brings a whole set of new features, as well as performance improvements and aesthetic tweaks. They include the addition of a long-awaited dark mode, new animoji, and updates to maps.

It is also perhaps the strangest iPhone update in recent years, since many of the headline features will not actually arrive for another two weeks, with the release of iOS 13.1 on 30 September. That will bring a range of bug fixes for problems that still exist in iOS 13, as well as the features that have been held back.

The iPad and Apple TV also won’t be able to get the new update until that same date. WatchOS will arrive on time, being available to download at the same time as iOS 13.

iOS has traditionally arrived at 10am in Apple’s local pacific time. That’s 1pm Eastern, or 6pm UK time.

Downloading it is simple: head to the Settings app, and press “general”. The software update option will be in there, and clicking the relevant buttons will make your iPhone start downloading and installing iOS 13.

In the past, this process has been fairly slow in the minutes after the update goes live. That means that it can be easier just to wait for a few hours, at which point the interest will have calmed down and the downloads will have sped up.

With last year’s iOS 12, Apple introduced the option for auto-updates. So, if that’s turned on, the phone will offer you the option to schedule the download to happen overnight, which could be a good way to avoid the long wait that the update requires.

The watchOS update should arrive at the same time. That is done by opening up the “Watch” app and clicking “general”, where the software update option can be found.