iOS7 goes for Public Launch on September 18

At iPhone media event, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced iOS 7's public launch date -- September 18, two days before the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c release. He also highlighted iOS 7's major redesign and the slew of new features the operating system will introduce, including Control Center, a revamped Notification Center, AirDrop, iTunes Radio, and new multitasking capabilities.

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," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "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.

Apple has also announced that iOS 7 is engineered to take full advantage of the 64-bit technologies introduced with the iPhone 5s. All built-in apps have been re-engineered for 64-bit and iOS 7 will run both 32-bit and 64-bit apps.

iOS 7 has also been built to complement both the iPhone 5c's colors and the new internal capabilities of the iPhone 5s, including its Touch ID fingerprint sensor and camera features like automatic image stabilization, Burst Mode, and Slo-Mo 120 fps video.

Apple's new mobile operating system will be available for the iPhone 4 and later, the iPad 2 and later, the iPad mini, and the fifth-generation iPod touch.

Get IOS7 on September 18.