Apple has released iOS 13 to the public, and is available for compatible iPhone and iPod touch models. The new mobile operating system has been in beta testing since its debut at WWDC 2019 back in June.
iOS 13 can be installed on your device by entering the device’s Settings app and tapping “Gerneral” -> “Software Update” and opting to install the update. You’ll then need to enter the device’s PIN for the installation to begin. If you have automatic updates turned on, the update will download to your device and will then notify you when it is ready to install.
iPad and iPad Pro owners will be required to wait awhile before they can upgrade to iPadOS, the version of iOS 13 designed for the iPad’s larger display. iPadOS will be available to install on September 24.
The new operating system brings a large number of new and improved features, all of which are listed in the software updates release notes:
iOS 13 introduces a dramatic new look for iPhone with Dark Mode, new ways to browse and edit photos, and a private new way to sign in to apps and websites with just a tap. iOS 13 is faster and more responsive with optimizations across the system that improve app launch, reduce app download sizes and make Face ID even faster.
This update introduces new features and improvements to:
Dark Mode
– A beautiful new dark color scheme that delivers a great viewing experience especially in low-light environments
– Can be scheduled to turn on automatically at sunset, at a certain time, or turned on from Control Center
– Four new system wallpapers that automatically switch appearances with Light and Dark ModeCamera & Photos
– An all-new Photos tab with a curated view of your library making it easy to find, relive, and share your photos and videos
– Powerful new photo editing tools that make it easier to edit, adjust, and review photos at a glance
– Video editing with over 30 new tools, including Rotate, Crop, and Enhance
– The ability to increase or decrease Portrait Lighting intensity on iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
– High-Key Light Mono, a new Portrait Lighting effect, for a monochromatic portrait with a white background on iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS MaxSign in with Apple
– A private way to sign in to participating apps and websites with the Apple ID you already have
– Simple account setup with only your name and email address
– Hide My Email to share a unique email address that is automatically forwarded to you
– Built-in two-factor authentication to protect your account
– No tracking or profiling by Apple as you use your favorite appsApp Store with Arcade
– Unlimited access to groundbreaking new games with one subscription, no ads or additional purchases
– An all-new Arcade tab in the App Store to browse the latest games, personalized recommendations, and exclusive editorial content
– Available to play across iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
– Option to download large apps over your cellular connection
– Ability to view available app updates or delete apps from the Account page
– Support for Arabic and HebrewMaps
– An all-new map rolling out in the US featuring broader road coverage, improved
address precision, better support for pedestrians, and more detailed land cover
– Look Around to explore cities in a high-resolution, interactive 3D experience
– Collections for the lists of places you love and can easily share with friends and family
– Favorites for quick and easy navigation to the places you visit daily
– Real-time transit, real-time flight updates and more natural spoken turn-by-turn directionsReminders
– All-new design with more powerful and intelligent ways to create and organize reminders
– Quick toolbar to add dates, locations, flags, attachments and more to reminders
– New smart lists–Today, Scheduled, Flagged and All–to easily keep track of upcoming reminders
– Subtasks and grouped lists to organize your remindersSiri
– More natural Siri voice, particularly while speaking longer phrases
– Personalized Siri Suggestions in Apple Podcasts, Safari, and Maps
– Over 100,000 live radio stations from around the world available with Siri
– Shortcuts app now built-inMemoji and Messages
– New Memoji customization options including new hairstyles, headwear, makeup, and piercings
– Memoji sticker packs in Messages, Mail, and third‑party apps and available on all iPhone models
– Your name and photo, or even Memoji, now optionally shared with your friends
– Search enhancements to easily find messages with intelligent suggestions and categorization of resultsCarPlay
– All-new CarPlay Dashboard with your tunes, turns, and smart Siri suggestions on one screen
– All-new Calendar app with a view of your day, option to drive to or dial in to meetings, and contact meeting organizers
– Apple Maps redesign with Favorites, Collections, and Junction View for China
– Apple Music album art to easily find your favorite song
– Do Not Disturb while driving now available in CarPlayAugmented Reality
– People Occlusion for apps to place virtual objects naturally in front or behind people using iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
– Motion Capture for apps to understand the body position and movement of a person so you can animate a character or interact with virtual objects using iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
– Multiple face tracking for AR content on up to 3 faces at a time so you can have fun with your friends using iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
– AR Quick Look to view and interact with multiple AR objects at the same time
– Block sender to move all email messages from a blocked sender directly to the trash
– Mute thread to stop notifications from an overly active email thread
– Format bar with easy access to rich text formatting tools and attachments of all kinds
– Font support for all system fonts, as well as new fonts you download from the App StoreNotes
– Gallery view with your notes as visual thumbnails helping you find the note you need
– Shared folders to collaborate with others giving them access to entire folders of notes
– More powerful search for visual recognition of images inside your notes and text in items you’ve scanned
– New checklist options to easily reorder checklist items, indent them, or move checked items to the bottom of the list automaticallySafari
– Updated start page with favorites, frequently visited, most recently visited websites, and Siri suggestions
– View options in the Smart Search field for quick access to text size controls, Reader view, and per‑site settings
– Per‑site settings to choose Reader view, and enable content blockers, camera, microphone, and location access for individual websites
– Download managerQuickPath
– Slide to type on the keyboard for easier one-handed typing when you’re on the go
– Slide or tap to type interchangeably, even mid‑sentence
– Alternate word options in the predictive barText Editing
– Scrollbar scrubbing to directly drag the scrollbar for quickly navigating long documents, web pages, and email conversations
– Faster and more precise cursor navigation–just pick it up and move it to where you want
– Text selection improvements for easier selection by just tapping and swiping on the textFonts
– Custom fonts are available from the App Store for use in your favorite apps
– Font management in SettingsFiles
– External drives supported in Files to access and manage files on a USB drive, SD card, or hard drive
– SMB support to connect to a server at work or a home PC
– Local storage for creating folders on the local drive and adding your favorite files
– Zip and Unzip support for creating and expanding Zip filesHealth
– New Summary view of personalized data, including alerts, favorites, and relevant highlights from frequently used apps and devices
– Highlights of health data from frequently used apps and devices showing trends over time in helpful charts and graphs
– Cycle Tracking feature to log information about your menstrual cycle including flow level, symptoms, and fertility metrics
– Hearing health data types for environmental audio levels from the Noise app on Apple Watch, headphone audio levels, and audiograms from hearing testsApple Music
– Time-synced lyrics make listening more fun with perfectly timed lyrics
– Over 100,000 live radio stations from around the worldScreen Time
– 30-day usage data to compare Screen Time numbers over the previous weeks
Combined limits to include multiple app categories, specific apps, or websites in one limit
– “One more minute” option to quickly save your work or log out of a game when a Screen Time limit is metPrivacy and Security
– Allow Once location permission with the option to share your locations with apps only once
– Background tracking alerts now notify you when an app is using your location in the background
– Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enhancements help prevent apps from accessing your location without your consent
– Location sharing controls give you the option to easily omit location data when sharing photosSystem Experience
– Wi‑Fi networks and Bluetooth accessories selection in Control Center
– A redesigned, unobtrusive volume control in the upper-left corner
– Full-page screenshots for web pages, Mail messages, iWork documents, and Maps
– Redesigned share sheet with intelligent suggestions to share content with just a few taps
– Dolby Atmos playback for a thrilling surround sound experience from content with Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks on iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS MaxLanguage support
– Support for 38 new keyboard languages
– Predictive input in Cantonese, Dutch, Hindi (Devanagari), Hindi (Latin), Najdi Arabic, Swedish, and Vietnamese keyboards
– Separate emoji and globe keys make it easier to quickly switch between languages and select emoji on iPhone X and later
– Automatic language detection for dictation
– Bilingual dictionary support in Thai and English and Vietnamese and English
China
– A dedicated QR code mode in Camera, accessible from the Control Center, for improved QR code performance, a flashlight option, and enhanced privacy
– Junction View in Maps for drivers in China to more easily navigate complex roadways
– Adjustable handwriting area on the Chinese keyboard
– Cantonese predictions on the Cangjie, Sucheng, Stroke, and Handwriting keyboardsIndia
– All‑new Indian English male and female Siri voices
– Support for all 22 official Indian languages with the addition of 15 new keyboard languages
– Bilingual keyboard for Hindi (Latin) and English keyboard, including typing predictions
– Typing predictions on the Hindi (Devanagari) keyboard
– New Indian language system fonts for Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, and Odia for greater clarity and ease when reading in apps
30 new document fonts for Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu
– Contacts with hundreds of new relationship labels to help more accurately label your contactsVoice Control
– A new way to control your iOS devices, entirely with your voice
– Comprehensive navigation with just your voice to open apps, search the web, tap, swipe, pinch, zoom, press the Home button and more
– Accurate dictation using the Siri speech recognition engine
– Rich text editing to make corrections using just your voice, or select from word and emoji suggestions
– Custom words, such as legal or medical terms, to ensure Voice Control recognizes words you commonly use
– Seamless transitions from text dictation to voice commands
– Attention Awareness to keep Voice Control off when you turn your head away from True Depth camera on supported iPhone models
– On‑device processing so your personal data is kept privatePerformance
– Up to 2x faster app launch*
– Up to 30 percent faster Face ID unlocking on iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max
– 60 percent smaller app updates on average*
– Up to 50 percent smaller apps from the App Store*Other features and improvements
– Silence unknown callers to get calls from known numbers in Contacts, Mail, and -Messages, while sending all other calls to voicemail
– Optimized battery charging to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged
– Low Data Mode to reduce your data usage over your cellular network or specific Wi-Fi networks you select
– PlayStation 4 and Xbox Wireless Controller support
– Find My iPhone and Find My Friends combined into a single app with the ability to locate a missing device even if it can’t connect to a Wi-Fi or cellular network
– Apple Books reading goals help make reading a daily habit
– Apple News+ options to remove downloaded issues, follow a title, or browse the back catalog from the More button in the My Magazines section
– Stocks app with business stories from Apple News+
– Calendar supports adding attachments to events
– Family sharing hotspot for your family’s devices to automatically connect to your nearby iPhone personal hotspot
– Home app redesigned controls for HomeKit accessories with a combined view for ones with multiple services
Apple is already beta testing iOS 13.1. In an unusual move, Apple began beta testing the new version of their operating system before the release of iOS 13 itself. iOS 13.1 will be released to the public on September 24, the same day as iPadOS.
