In an official press release from Apple, the iOS 7 free software update will be available on Sept 18 for iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPad mini and iPod touch 5th generation. However, the statement noted that some features may not be available for its free download.

Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, said that the iOS 7 will allow users to update to a completely redesigned user interface.

"iOS 7 is completely redesigned with an entirely new user interface and over 200 new features, so it's like getting a brand new device, but one that will still be instantly familiar to our users. Next month we'll be shipping our 700 millionth iOS device, and we're excited about what our hundreds of thousands of iOS developers are doing to bring great new features to their apps," according to Mr Federighi.

The iOS 7 comes with a whopping 200 new features for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Some of these 200 new features are as follows:

  • Control Center, which gives you quick access to the controls you want in one convenient place with just one swipe from the bottom of your screen;
  • Notification Center, now available from the Lock screen so you can see all your notifications with a simple swipe, and the new Today feature gives you an at-a-glance view of your day with a summary of the important details such as weather, traffic, meetings and events;
  • improved Multitasking that gives users the ability to switch between their apps in a more visual and intuitive way, and iOS 7 pays attention to which apps you use most and automatically keeps your content up to date in the background;
  • AirDrop, an entirely new way to quickly and easily share content with people nearby;
  • new Camera app filters so you can add real-time photo effects, a square camera option, and you can quickly and easily switch between your four cameras-video, photo, square and panorama-with just a swipe;
  • a redesigned Photos app that introduces Moments, a new way to automatically organise your photos and videos based on time and location;
  • full-screen browsing with Safari's new redesigned user interface, the new smart search field helps simplify searching, and there's a new view for your bookmarks and your Safari tabs;
  • Siri with new male and female voices,* Twitter search integration, Wikipedia integration and Bing web searching within the app; and
  • iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service featuring over 200 stations and an incredible catalog of music from the iTunes Store®, combined with features only iTunes can deliver.

The iOS 7 also has the new Find My iPhone Activation Lock. This app allows users to turn off Find My iPhone through Apple ID and password; FaceTIme for high quality calls over a data network also comes with iOS7; and the revolutionary App Store.

The revolutionary App Store has more than 900,000 apps in 155 countries for iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPad mini and iPod touch 5th generation users.

The Popular Apps Near Me, on the other hand, allows users to find apps based on their actual location. After downloading, iOS 7 will automatically keep all users' apps updated.