Apple customers in Australia and New Zealand are always the first to get their hands on new devices on launch day because of differences in time zones, and the new 2019 devices are no exception.

It's just after 8:00 a.m. in New Zealand, and customers who pre-ordered an iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, or Apple Watch Series 5 are beginning to receive their shipments and have started sharing the first customer photos of the devices on Twitter, Instagram, reddit, and the MacRumors forums.

iPhone 11 image via Twitter user Dan
There are no Apple Stores located in New Zealand, so customers in Australia will be the first to be able to purchase an Apple Watch Series 5 or new iPhone 11/11 Pro model from an Apple retail location.

Available stock in Australia should give us some idea of what we can expect in other retail stores around the world as it rolls around to September 20 in other countries. Many iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max models sold out early this year, so there are customers who may be hoping for in store stock.

iPhone 11 Pro image via MacRumors forum member SSMONY
Following New Zealand and Australia, iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, and Apple Watch Series 5 sales will kick off in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and finally, North America. Apple Stores globally will be opening up at 8:00 a.m. local time to allow customers to pick up reserved devices and make walk-in purchases.

This includes Apple's new Fifth Avenue Store, which has been entirely overhauled and will be reopening for the first time since 2017 on September 20.

@MacRumors Teh shiny haz landed in NZ pic.twitter.com/fmQg49vR2E

— Andrew Ecclestone (@openpolicynz) September 19, 2019

Apple is likely to have some stock available for walk-in customers at most of its retail locations around the world, but supplies of some devices, such as the 11 Pro and Pro Max in the new Midnight Green color, could be limited. As always, customers hoping for a new device on launch day should try to get to the Apple Store early.

Green. #iPhone11 #iPhone11ProMax pic.twitter.com/HPoQExUIaN

— Virgil de Balkans (@varvanitas) September 19, 2019

Other retailers, including carriers and big box stores, should also have some iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max models to offer up to customers.

In the United States, the first new device deliveries will take place on the east coast starting at 8:00 a.m.

Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors both tomorrow and throughout next week, because we'll have plenty of iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, and Apple Watch Series 5 coverage to share with our readers.

The iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max will soon be available in Australia and New Zealand before rolling out to other countries around the world, and customers have already started lining up to purchase one of Apple's new devices.

At the Orchard Road store in Singapore, where the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro will roll out in just a few hours, hundreds of people are waiting.

Image via Twitter user Spencer Chong
There's a similar scene at Apple's Ginza and Marunouchi stores in Japan, where some customers have started waiting for the new iPhones.

アップルストア銀座前ジョインしました #iPhone11 pic.twitter.com/D1GBieZuqw

— jimisan (@tofuonthefire) September 19, 2019

#iPhone行列 只今23名！ （AM5:30現在）#Apple丸の内 #iPhone行列
#iPhone11Pro #iPhone11 #Apple #アイフォーン #iPhone pic.twitter.com/XkUNDnlUjj

— Aniie@iPhone行列 (@Ani_9_) September 19, 2019

Customers still have several hours to wait in Europe, but lines have started at Apple's flagship Kärntner Straße store in Vienna, Austria.

Ist ab morgen etwa das #iPhone11 in Wien erhältlich!? 😅😅 #apple #store #kärntnerstraße pic.twitter.com/xPnVvdHu4f

— Christopher Abel (@abelinho87_) September 19, 2019

Most U.S. stores don't appear to have long lines just yet, but people will likely start showing up at retail locations as the launch date draws nearer.

Apple's iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max models sold out rather quickly after pre-orders became available on September 13, so there may be a decent number of people hoping to get a new iPhone in store.

Orders placed for new iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max models today won't be shipping out until October, which will increase demand for in store models.

Customers in the United States who did not pre-order and who are hoping for a launch day device should get to an Apple retail store or carrier store as early as possible.

Are you planning to wait in line for an Apple device this year? Let us know in the comments.

Apple today released iOS 13, the newest version of the software that's designed to run on the iPhone. Apple's yearly software updates always bring long lists of new features and changes that can make your iPhone feel like a foreign device.

New updates can be intimidating, but installing them is often worthwhile because Apple's updates make sure your devices are safe, up to date, and have the latest feature improvements.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
If you're worried about performance taking a hit on older devices, rest assured that Apple has made an effort in both iOS 12 and iOS 13 to make older devices more efficient. In iOS 13, Face ID is faster, apps launch up to twice as fast, and are, in general smaller in size for quicker downloads and updates.

We're going to jump start you with the what you need to know to get up and running with iOS 13 right away.

1. Try Out Dark Mode

Your iPhone isn't going to look too much different when you install iOS 13, with one exception - a new dark theme that's available if you enable it. Apple will ask you if you want to turn on Dark Mode when you first update your iPhone to iOS 13, and if you do opt to turn it on, prepare for everything from apps to the Home screen to shift to a darker shade.


Dark Mode is one of those features that iOS users have wanted for ages, and it's great if you have eyes sensitive to light or want a darker theme for your apps at night. Most Apple apps, like Mail, Messages, Health, Reminders, the App Store, Apple Music, and more have dark themes that activate whenever you turn on Dark Mode, and third-party developers are also able to develop darker themes to swap to when Dark Mode is activated.

You can turn Dark Mode on permanently, toggle it on when you need it, or set it to come on at a set schedule, such as sunset to sunrise, all of which can be controlled via Settings or the Control Center. The opposite of Dark Mode is Light Mode, which is the same old mode that's been available on your iPhone for years, so that's an option too if you don't like the darker display.


For more on Dark Mode, including how to access it and how it looks, make sure to check out our Dark Mode guide.

2. Learn These New Gestures

Some of the gestures on your iPhone (and iPad) are a little bit different in iOS 13, but they're easy to adjust to. Here's a quick list of what's been tweaked:

• Scrolling - Just grab the scroll bar and drag it upwards or downwards to get where you want to go instead of swiping.
• Selecting Text - Drag a finger right over text to select it. Double tap to select a word, triple tap to select an entire sentence, and quadruple tap to select a paragraph.
• Cursor Movement - To move the cursor when writing a note or an email, just stick your finger on it and drag it wherever you want it to go.
• Cut, Copy, and Paste - Pinch up with three fingers to copy, pinch up with fingers two times to cut, and pinch down with three fingers to paste.
• Undo/Redo - To undo and redo, swipe with three fingers to the left or the right.
• Selecting Multiples - To select multiple items, like messages, files, or folders, tap with two fingers and then drag.

Can't remember all these? If you tap and hold with three fingers, an edit bar appears with undo, redo, cut, copy, and paste.

Bonus for iPhone XR and iPad owners: 3D Touch functionality is available in the form of Haptic Touch or a long press (on the iPad). Just long press where supported. It's available almost everywhere 3D Touch was available. New iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro users will also need to get used to Haptic Touch instead of 3D Touch.

3. Go Configure These Settings

• Silence Unknown Callers
• Automatic Safari Tab Closing
• Optimize Battery Charging
• Location controls for Shared Images

4. Set Up a Messages Profile

When you open up Messages for the first time after installing iOS 13, it's going to prompt you to set up your profile. Your profile is basically just a name and a photo that's shared with people when you converse with them.


Your profile can be customized with an image you took, an Animoji, or just a letter, and you can choose to share it with your contacts, everyone, or no one at all.

For more on Messages, make sure to check out our Messages guide.

5. Try Swiping Instead of Typing

iOS 13 has a new "QuickPath" keyboard, which is Apple's fancy way of saying that it's added swipe gestures for typing. You can now slide to type, dragging your fingers over letters instead of picking them up to type as you normally do.


If you've ever used a swipe-based keyboard, this is the same thing. Just swipe from letter to letter to form words. If you hate it, don't worry, you can still tap, or use swipes and taps interchangeably.

6. Memoji/Animoji Stickers for Everyone

Memoji and Animoji have been available on all devices with a Face ID camera, but in iOS 13, Animoji and Memoji are expanding to stickers that everyone can use.


There's a new Animoji Stickers app in the app drawer in Messages, where you can choose from already-available Animoji characters in a variety of poses or create new Memoji stickers that look just like you.

Animoji and Memoji stickers are available on all iOS devices that run iOS 13 and work like all other stickers so you can send them to people in Messages. You can also access your Animoji/Memoji stickers in other apps through the "Recently Used" menu.

Learn how to create and use Animoji/Memoji stickers in our how to.

7. Edit Videos in the New Photos App

When you open up the Photos app for the first time, it's going to look a bit different. There are new Years, Months, and Days organizational options you can tap in the main Photos tab.


Apple's aim with these new sections is to help you find your best photos so you can relive your memories whenever you want.

Editing photos looks different too, but all of the options you're used to are there, with some new editing tools to make your photos look better than ever. You can also edit videos for the first time ever, which is a fun new addition to iOS 13. It works just like editing photos, so it's a simple and quick way to trim down video footage or add cool effects.

For more on what's new in the Photos app and how to use all of the new features, make sure to check out our Photos guide.

8. Look Around in Maps

Maps in iOS 13 more or less looks the same, but Apple has continued to expand its redesigned Maps interface with more detail, so you may notice some changes right when you open the app.


One neat new feature you might want to check out is the "Look Around" option, which is Apple's equivalent to Google Street View. Look Around lets you get a street level look at what's around you or what you search for, which is great for scoping out restaurants, shopping, and more.

Maps has other neat features like lists of Collections and Favorites, and when Siri gives directions, you'll notice that they're much more natural. Siri will say things like "turn left at the next stoplight" instead of "turn left in 500 feet."

If you want to know about everything new in Maps, make sure to check out our Maps guide.

Compatible Devices

You can install iOS 13 if you have an iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS Max, or iPhone XS (and it'll come pre-installed on the new 2019 iPhones). It's not compatible with the iPhone 6 and earlier, so if you have an older iPhone, you'll need to stick with iOS 12 (or earlier).

If you have an iPad, you need to know that instead of iOS, it's going to run iPadOS going forward. Don't worry, though, iPadOS is pretty much identical to iOS 13 and offers all of the same features, with a few other changes designed specifically for the larger screen of the iPad.

For iPads, the new iOS works on iPad Air 2, iPad Air (3rd Gen), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 5, iPad (5th-7th Gen), and any iPad Pro.

If you do have an iPad and want to know more about iPadOS, you'll find details in our iPadOS roundup.

Learn More about iOS 13

We have a lot more information on every new feature in iOS 13, large and small. If you want to learn more about what's new and what you can expect when installing iOS 13, we recommend reading our full iOS 13 roundup.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about the new features in iOS 13 or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Apple will release the upcoming iOS 13.1 update and iPadOS on September 24 instead of September 30 as previously planned, according to updated information on its iOS 13 and iPadOS preview pages.

Following the company's September 10 event, Apple initially said that iOS 13.1 and iPadOS would come on Monday, September 30, but the updates will now be just under a week earlier.


The earlier release of iPadOS will allow iPad users to get iOS 13 features on their iPads quicker, with access to Apple Arcade, Dark Mode, and more, while the iOS 13.1 release will bring missing iOS 13 features like Shortcuts Automations and Share ETA.

Apple hasn't made it clear if there will be an iPadOS 13 release, but given that the update is coming on the same day as iOS 13.1, the first version of iPadOS may be iPadOS 13.1.

Apple today released iOS 13, the newest operating system designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. iOS 13 is available on the iPhone 6s and later and the 7th-generation iPod touch. As with all of Apple's software updates, iOS 13 is free to download.


The update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings > General > Software update. It may take a few minutes for the update to propagate to everyone due to high demand.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
There are a ton of new features in iOS 13, but the most noticeable outward facing change is a new systemwide Dark Mode option that changes the entire look of the operating system from light to dark, darkening everything from system elements to Apple's apps to third-party apps (when implemented by developers).


Dark Mode can be set manually or it can be set to turn on automatically when the sun sets, with controls and toggles available both in the Settings app and in Control Center.


Apple tweaked several apps, but the Photos app on iPhone got a complete overhaul with a new Photos tab that curates your entire Photos library and shows you a selection of highlights organized by day, month, or year.


There's a revamped photo editing interface that makes it easier than ever to tweak your images, plus there are new editing tools that put the Photos app on par with more robust third-party photo editing options.


For the first time, you can edit video right in the Photos app too, cropping, rotating, applying filters, and adjusting lighting and color. There's also a new High-Key Mono lighting effect, and for Portrait Lighting in general, you can now adjust the intensity for more granular control over your edits.

Many iOS users will be thrilled to know that the volume HUD has been tweaked so it's much less obtrusive, with Apple now displaying the volume bar on the side of the iPhone (or at the top in some cases) so volume controls no longer obscure the middle of the display when you adjust the volume to be louder or quieter.


A new Find My app combines the functionality of both Find My iPhone and Find My Friends, offering a one-stop app for finding whatever needs to be found. There's even a new feature that lets you track your devices when they don't have an LTE or WiFi connection, using Bluetooth and other nearby devices owned by other people.


Sign in with Apple, a new privacy feature, gives you a convenient and safe way to sign into apps and websites as an alternative to Facebook and Google sign in options. Apple can even generate single-use randomized emails for you so you don't have to give out your real info.


Sign in with Apple does require developers to support it, so it will only be available in apps (and websites) where developers have added the feature.


In the Maps app, there's a neat new street-level "Look Around" mode that's similar to Google's Street View option, letting you get a close-up look at whatever is around you or a location that you've searched for.


Maps also features Collections and Favorites for saving locations you like and want to get to quickly, and you'll notice that Siri offers up much more natural directions. There are some other minor Maps tweaks that should make the routing experience much better in iOS 13.


There's a whole new look for Reminders that makes it more functional than ever, Siri now supports Live Radio features, Safari has an updated start page and new website controls, and the Health app has been overhauled with new noise and menstrual cycle tracking options.


In Messages, there's a new option to create a profile with a pic and a name that's shared with people you talk to (though you don't have to enable it) plus there are new Animoji and Memoji stickers that can be used in Messages and throughout the operating system. With the Memoji option, you can customize your avatar even if you don't have an iPhone with the TrueDepth camera system.


You can connect multiple sets of AirPods to a single iPhone with iOS 13, which is a neat feature for when you want to share your music with someone else. iOS 13 also brings handoff and multi-user support for the HomePod, allowing it to tell the difference between multiple devices.

CarPlay in iOS 13 has been overhauled with an updated look and all of the new features that are in the Maps app, plus it has a new Music interface, a Calendar app, more natural Siri language, a new Settings app, and support for third-party mapping apps.

You can use a new swipe-based "QuickPath" option when typing on the iPhone keyboard, and there are new gestures for text editing that makes working on your iOS devices easier. The Files app now supports sharing folders and accessing files from external storage devices, and there's a download manager in Safari.


According to Apple, iOS 13 is faster and more efficient than iOS 12. App update times have improved, app launch times are two times faster, and app download sizes have been reduced by up to 50 percent. If you have a device with Face ID, it will unlock up to 30 percent faster after installing the update.

There are important new privacy controls that limit the location data shared with apps so you can better protect your location data from apps that might misuse it, and Apple is making HomeKit cameras more secure with a Secure Video feature that offers on-device analysis and encrypted iCloud access. HomeKit is also being added to select routers.


Apple's release notes for the update are below:

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 Mode

Camera & 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 Max

Sign 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 apps

App 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 Hebrew

Maps
- 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 directions

Reminders
- 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 reminders

Siri
- 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-in

Memoji 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 results

CarPlay
- 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 CarPlay

Augmented 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

Mail
- 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 Store

Notes
- 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 automatically

Safari
- 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 manager

QuickPath
- 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 bar

Text 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 text

Fonts
- Custom fonts are available from the App Store for use in your favorite apps
- Font management in Settings

Files
- 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 files

Health
- 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 tests

Apple Music
- Time-synced lyrics make listening more fun with perfectly timed lyrics
- Over 100,000 live radio stations from around the world

Screen 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 met

Privacy 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 photos

System 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 Max

Language 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 keyboards

India
- 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 contacts

Voice 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 private

Performance
- 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

There are a ton of other major new features that are included in iOS 13, so it's worth reading through our iOS 13 roundup to get a complete overview of what's new. iPad users should also take a look at our iPadOS roundup, as iPadOS, the operating system for the iPad, is set to come out later this month.

Along with the key features, there are dozens of smaller but still notable changes that are worth knowing, and many of these can be found in our separate tidbits article.

Apple Arcade, Apple's new subscription gaming service, is now available for everyone following the launch of the iOS 13 update for the iPhone.

Apple Arcade offers up dozens of games for one monthly $4.99 price, and reviews of the service have been positive, praising the wide selection of available titles.


Apple actually began rolling out Apple Arcade to iOS 13 and iOS 13.1 beta testers earlier this week, but now it is available to everyone who has installed the release version of iOS 13.

When Apple Arcade first became available, there were just over 50 games available, but more titles have already been rolling out. Apple says that new Apple Arcade titles will be coming out on a weekly basis, with at least 100 games in the works.


While Apple Arcade is priced at $4.99 per month, that price allows up to six family members to access games through Apple's Family Sharing feature. There's also a one-month free trial available, so everyone can give it a try before paying.


You can access Apple Arcade through the App Store using the new Apple Arcade tab in the navigation bar. Apple Arcade looks similar to the standard App Store with apps arranged into different categories like "Start Your Adventure," "New Arrivals," "You Have to Hear This," "No Time to Blink," and more.


Apple's editorial team will highlight standout Apple Arcade titles, but there's also an option to access all available games, and you can search for titles as well.

Right now, Apple Arcade is available only on the iPhone, though iOS 13 and 13.1 beta testers on iPad can install the update. Apple isn't releasing iPadOS until September 30, and tvOS 13 and macOS Catalina also aren't coming out until a future date. For more details on Apple Arcade, make sure to check out our Apple Arcade guide.

If you have a favorite Apple Arcade title, make sure to share it in the comments down below, because there's a lot of available content to go through. Our sister site TouchArcade also has a dedicated Apple Arcade forum for discussing games, which is well worth checking out.

Apple today released watchOS 6, the newest version of the operating system designed to run on the Apple Watch. Today's watchOS 6 software update follows several months of beta testing.

watchOS 6 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.


watchOS 6 at release is limited to the Series 3 and Series 4 Apple Watch models, with Apple planning to release the update for Series 1 and Series 2 models at a later date.

watchOS 6 is a major update that offers quite a few new features for Apple Watch owners. There's a dedicated App Store available on the Apple Watch for the first time, allowing apps to be downloaded on the Apple Watch independent of the iPhone. Developers can now create apps that run on Apple Watch without an iPhone element.


Apps can take advantage of new APIs so you can do things like follow along with a workout or listen to streaming music from third-party services, and some built-in Apple Watch apps can be removed now that they're not tied to the iPhone.

There are multiple new watch faces in watchOS 6, including Numerals Mono and Duo with large numbers, Modular Compact, a new Gradient watch face that shifts over the course of a day, a Solar Dial that visualizes the sun in a 24 hour path around the dial, and a California watch face with a mix of standard numbers and roman numerals.


Taptic Chimes offers up a silent touch on the wrist at every hour, and with sound activated, there's also an audible chime. Holding two fingers on the Apple Watch's display speaks the time aloud.

There's a new Noise app for measuring the noise level of the environment you're in, sending a notification if the sound is loud enough to damage your hearing. There's also a new Cycle Tracking app for tracking menstrual cycles.


Several iOS apps have been ported over to the Apple Watch in watchOS 6, including Audiobooks, Calculator, and Voice Memos. There are new complications you can add to watch faces, including decibel level, cellular strength, rain probability, and more.


Siri can now pull up full webpage results, displaying the info right on the wrist, and Siri can look up song lyrics using Shazam even when your iPhone isn't nearby.

The new Animoji and Memoji stickers from the Messages app work on the Apple Watch, and for Mac users, the Apple Watch can approve some Mac security prompts.

For more on watchOS 6, make sure to check out our watchOS 6 roundup.

Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store with its iconic glass cube entrance in Manhattan reopens to the public Friday following multi-year renovations, and ahead of time, the media was invited to the store for a preview.


The underground store has been nearly doubled in size with a higher ceiling and more natural light coming in from 62 skylights added to the store's plaza at ground level. The plaza has also been lined with 28 honey locust trees, linear fountains, and benches for the public to gather around.

Visitors enter by walking down a new stainless steel spiral staircase, or by riding a circular elevator. The staircase is designed with 43 cantilevered stair treads that support a floating cylinder of glass, and the backlit ceiling above combines natural and artificial light to match the sunlight throughout the day.


The store is now equipped with a Forum for Today at Apple sessions, which begin Saturday with a special series that "captures the creative spirit of New York." The area dedicated to Geniuses has also doubled, which will "dramatically increase" the store's ability to serve customers and service products.

Steve Jobs personally welcomed the first customers to Apple Fifth Avenue when the store opened in 2006. Since then, Apple says the location has had over 57 million visitors, and more visitors on an annual basis than other New York City landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building.

Apple CEO Tim Cook:

Our customers are at the center of everything we do, and Apple Fifth Avenue is for them, to inspire them, and to provide the very best place to discover our newest products. It's unique among Apple stores, and today it returns even more welcoming, and even more beautiful than ever. We're so proud to be a part of this great city where so much happens every day.

Apple Fifth Avenue reopens Friday at 8 a.m. local time and remains the company's only retail store open 24 hours per day and 365 days per year. Apple says the store will be staffed with 900 employees who speak over 30 languages.

In a feature for WIRED, Om Malik sat down with Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller and chipmaking engineer Anand Shimpi to discuss the A13 Bionic chip in the new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.


Malik first provides an overview of the A13 chip's specs and performance improvements:

• 8.5 billion transistors, an approximately 23 percent increase over the A12 chip's 6.9 billion transistors
• Six-core CPU: two 2.66GHz high-performance cores named Lightning and four efficiency cores named Thunder
• Quad-core graphics processor, an Apple-designed image processor, and an octa-core neural engine for machine learning that is capable of one trillion operations per second
• Up to 20 percent performance increase across all of the main components, including the CPU, GPU, and neural engine
• Up to 30 percent more power efficient than the A12 chip

Schiller told Malik that one of the biggest examples of the performance increase this year is text-to-speech on iPhones.

"We've enhanced our iOS 13 text-to-speech capabilities such that there is much more natural language processing, and that's all done with machine learning and the neural engine," Schiller explained.

Shimpi noted that when designing its A-series chips, Apple focuses on both performance and efficiency. "We talk about performance a lot publicly. But the reality is, we view it as performance per watt. We look at it as energy efficiency, and if you build an efficient design, you also happen to build a performance design."

The article notes that Apple's chipmaking team will study how apps are being used on iOS devices to optimize future chip designs. "For applications that don't need the additional performance, you can run at the performance of last year's and just do it at a much lower power," Shimpi said.

Machine learning also plays a big role in the A13 chip, helping to manage battery life and optimize performance, according to Schiller. "There wasn't machine learning running ten years ago. Now, it's always running, doing stuff."

iPhone owners will now be able to use their Apple Card in T-Mobile stores and receive three percent Daily Cash as a reward. The news was announced today by T-Mobile, and is timed to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max tomorrow, September 20.


The carrier specifically said that shoppers will be able to use their Apple Card with Apple Pay and get three percent Daily Cash at any T-Mobile store. This makes T-Mobile the only current wireless provider to support three percent Daily Cash on the Apple Card.

“We’re all about giving customers the best value in wireless, and we’re doing it again by offering 3% Daily Cash on Apple Card,” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile. “More options. More value. And cash back, including on Apple’s newest products. It’s just the Un-carrier way.”

As of now, Apple Card supports three percent Daily Cash with Apple itself, Uber, Uber Eats, Walgreens, Duane Reade, and now T-Mobile. Apple announced in August, amid the Apple Card launch, that it would be expanding merchant support for three percent Daily Cash, and it has continued to do so over the past few weeks.

Apple Card offers three Daily Cash reward tiers: one percent for all purchases made with the physical Apple Card, two percent for Apple Card purchases via Apple Pay, and three percent for these select merchants. You can apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app on iPhone.

T-Mobile is also highlighting its current offer where you can trade up and get 50 percent off the iPhone 11 Pro. If you're interested in the iPhone 11, you can also get 50 percent off with a qualifying iPhone trade in. More information on these offers can be found on T-Mobile's website.

Travel photographer Austin Mann typically goes hands-on with new iPhone models to test their camera performance in real world situations, and to test Apple's new iPhone 11 Pro, Mann traveled to China to take pictures.

Mann tested out the new three lens-camera system with telephoto, wide-angle, and ultra wide-angle lenses, the updated Smart HDR, and the new Night mode that's designed for super low light.


The wide-angle lens is the best lens of the bunch with the best shutter range, aperture, autofocus system, and ISO, but Mann says the ultra wide camera still "works really great in normal lighting conditions." It's not the ideal lens for low light, though.

The Ultra Wide works really great in normal lighting conditions and overall I'm thrilled to have it, but you will feel a difference when you move indoors or shoot into the evening. The images are softer than the Wide, and without Night mode you'll be tempted (or forced) to switch back to Wide depending on how limited your light is.

Night mode, says Mann, is "crazy powerful" and easy to use because it activates automatically in situations where lighting is poor. Mann praised Apple's efforts to balance Night mode, preventing night time shots from looking like daytime shots while still preserving detail.

One thing I love about Apple's approach to Night mode is the strategic balance of solving a technical problem while also caring deeply about artistic expression. When you look at the image above, it's clear their team didn't take the let's-make-night-look-like-day approach, as some of their competitors have. Instead, it feels more like an embrace of what it actually is (night) while asking, "How do we capture the feel of this scene in a beautiful way?"

According to Mann, Night mode is the "most dramatic leap forward" we've seen in an iPhone since panorama mode was introduced on the iPhone 5 in 2012. "It's the first time in a long time I've looked at an image and said to myself 'wow, I can't believe I shot this with my iPhone,'" he wrote.


The iPhone 11 and 11 Pro have a new "Capture Outside the Frame" feature that allows more of the scene in front of you to be displayed when taking a photo. What hasn't been highlighted is that this mode also captures a photo.

So, for example, if you take a picture using the wide-angle lens of the iPhone, it also captures a photo with the ultra wide-angle lens, allowing users to decide later how to frame a photo.


Mann said that while he likes the feature, he didn't love the preview of what's outside the frame because it was sometimes distracting when composing an image. For the most part, though, he called it a "great feature" that invites new editing possibilities.

All in all, Mann said that serious photographers should consider getting an iPhone 11 Pro and that the extra cost over the iPhone 11 is worth it.

No matter what iPhone you are using now, if you are serious about shooting photos with your iPhone, this is a year to upgrade. Apple had some serious catching up to do and as a result, this year has brought a tremendous leap in camera capability. Night mode and the Ultra Wide lens will change how we tell stories and express ourselves as artists using our iPhones. Now is a really good time to jump in.

Mann's full iPhone 11 Pro, which has additional details on the technical capabilities of the new phone along with a selection of amazing images, can be read over on his website.