iOS 7 release date and compatible devices confirmed

An iOS 7 release date has been confirmed alongside the full range of iOS 7 compatible devices, as the new software update is officially announced.

Formally unveiled alongside iTunes Radio, a refreshed MacBook Air range and OS X Mavericks during Apple’s WWDC 2013 keynote, iOS 7 was the highlight of the share, bringing a range of new features and functions to the company’s iPhone and iPad lines.

Describing the software overhaul as “the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone,” Apple has confirmed that an iOS 7 release date will be held this autumn. Although a precise date has yet to be set, it is expected the software refresh will be made available to coincide with the eagerly awaited but still unconfirmed iPhone 5S release date. It is believed Apple’s next-generation handset will hit retailers in September.

Not to be limited to new devices, Apple has revealed the full range of iOS 7 compatible devices, with the software to be made available to existing iPad, iPhone and iPod touch owners.

Set to be made available as a free download, Apple has announced that iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 devices will all be compatible with the iOS 7 update. iPhone models before the iPhone 4 will unfortunately miss the cut.

On top of this, iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPad 4 owners, as well as those sporting the iPad mini will all be able to make user of iOS 7’s new multitasking features. The fifth-generation iPod touch is the final device to be handed iOS 7 compatibility.

“iOS 7 is the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering in launching the software. “To create it, we brought together a team with a broad range of expertise from design to engineering. With what we’ve been able to achieve together, we see iOS 7 as an exciting new beginning.”

He added: “There is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity, in clarity, in efficiency. True simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absence of clutter and ornamentation—it’s about bringing order to complexity,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design. “iOS 7 is a clear representation of these goals. It has a whole new structure that is coherent and applied across the entire system.”