Today is the day. iOS 13 is finally here.
The free upgrade was first unveiled during the World Wide Developer Conference earlier this summer before the release date was confirmed during the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max event last week.
iOS 13 brings a bevy of long-requested features to the iPhone, including a system-wide dark mode – that promises to make using your iPhone less of a strain on your eyes after the sun has set and should provide a battery life boost for iPhones with OLED displays.
Apple seems to have kept to its typical release schedule, with iOS 13 starting to roll-out to users around 10am in Cupertino, California, which was 1pm in New York and 6pm in the UK.
Just like previous iOS launch days, not every iPhone user seemed to be able to get access to the latest version of iOS as soon as the clock struck 6pm.
That’s because these major operating system upgrades are notoriously popular as soon as Apple flips the switch and they go live… so it can take a while for the update to become available to everyone while the servers are being hammered by hundreds of thousands of users.
While you wait, it’s worth following these simple steps to get your iPhone ready for iOS 13.
Apple Watch owners who want to upgrade their gadget to watchOS 6 will need to update the iPhone that is paired with the smartwatch to the latest version of iOS first, and then open the Watch app to kickstart an operating system download.
Unfortunately, not every iPhone that was able to run iOS 12 – the previous operating system – will be able to make the leap to iOS 13. You can find information on exactly which iPhone models are compatible with iOS 13 here.
And if your old iPhone isn’t eligible for iOS 13, you might want to look at upgrading to the latest model. Coincidentally, Apple has a couple of shiny new models – iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Max – which launch in the UK on Friday.