Apple’s iOS 13 update rolls out for iPhones worldwide: Top exciting features

Apple has begun rolling out the official iOS 13 stable version to iPhone users worldwide. First unveiled at WWDC earlier this year, Apple's new mobile software iteration brings a range of improvements and new feature for iPhone users. Note that Apple is rolling out a separate iPadOS for its tablet users. On the day of iOS 13 roll-out, Apple announced it will release iOS 13.1 and iPadOS on September 24.

Apple iOS 13: Compatible iPhones

Apple's latest iOS iteration isn't going to be available for a lot of older generation phones. The iOS 13 update is available for the following devices: iPhone SE, iPod touch (7th gen), iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR. Apple's new smartphones, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max ship, with iOS 13 out-of-the-box.

Apple iOS 13: How to download, install

Apple is rolling out the latest iOS 13 update over-the-air. To download the OTA update, open Setting on your iPhone. Go to General and then tap on software updates to check the update is available on your phone. If it's there, tap on download and install. Ensure you're phone has good battery and access to high speed internet before downloading the update.

Top features

System-wide dark mode

Dark Mode is finally available on Apple's iPhones. Available for all native Apple apps, the UI offers inverted colours so that the screen light doesn't affect your eyes. You can also set a timer when to turn Dark Mode on or off. Dark Mode doesn't work well with a lot of third-party apps right now but it may not be the same in near future.

Photos

Apple's revamped Photos app brings improved machine-learning driven features. The app also makes it easier to find with narrower search keywords. The app now also helps you remove duplicate videos and photos. Just like Facebook, Apple now offers you On This Day reminder where you can relive your older photos taken on that particular day. The app now also offers better video editing tools.

Privacy

Apple is dialing 'Privacy 2.0' with the new iOS 13 update. The software update brings better and deeper controls. One of the best privacy features of Apple's iOS 13 is the notification when an application is accessing your location in the background. Users can choose to disable or keep giving the access. You can also choose to share your location when you share a photo.

Another big feature is the under the hood API changes that makes it easier to keep an eye on apps accessing your location without your permission when you're using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. With 'Sign in with Apple', you can choose to share a proxy email when signing up at a new website or platform. This way the website will not be able to misuse your real email ID for sending spams or target ads.

Only for India

Siri now offers a new Indian voice. The latest iOS 13 update brings support for all major Indian languages along with support for 15 new Indian language keyboards support. The iOS 13 keyboard now supports romanised Hindi and English. The popular Devanagari Hindi keyboard will now also show you text predictions. There are a range of new Indian languages document fonts. Apple has also introduced a special data optimisation mode making it easier stream content on platforms like Hotstar and Netflix.