iOS 14 release date: Apple to roll out new software updates for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and TV

Apple CEO Tim Cook unveils the iPhone 11 Pro during the 2019 event in Cupertino, California (Getty Images)

Apple is about to roll out major updates for the iPhone and all of its other major products.

The new versions of the operating systems will come tomorrow, 16 September, the company said.

As well as iOS 14, for the iPhone, new versions of iPadOS, WatchOS, and the operating system for the Apple TV will be released at the same time.

iOS 14 brings a host of new features to the iPhone, including a redesigned home screen that allows apps to be hidden away when they are not in use. When the new update is installed, users will be able to put icons into an “App Library” rather than having them clutter their various home screens.

It also adds new Picture in Picture tools for FaceTime, improvements to Memoji and messages, improvements intended to help people sleep better and more.

The new software update also brings changes to the way AirPods work, allowing for them to automatically switch between devices, new accessibility features, and “spatial audio”, which allows AirPods Pro to mimic the effect of watching content in a room. The firmware required for those updates is already being pushed out to AirPods, and will arrive on them automatically.

Ordinarily, the new software would ship alongside new versions of the iPhone. But Apple made no mention of the new hardware during the event.

This year, the release date of the various operating systems comes earlier than usual. Last year, for example, iOS 13 was released on 19 September, more than a week after that year’s phones were revealed, on 10 September.

That decision may have been made to ensure that users could get hold of iOS 14 before the new Apple Watches arrive on 18 September. Those new watches will require their companion phones to use the latest version of the operating system, since they will ship with the new WatchOS 7.