A 3D cutout view of iOS 7's layered structure.
We’ve fielded several questions about when Apple’s new mobile software, iOS 7, will be available for download today. And it’s been one of the top searches on Google lately. I am in the business of fielding questions and driving pageviews, so here we are.
The short answer is that there’s no official time, but – BUT! – Apple seems to like to do things at around 1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific. That’s when most of its events are held and that’s when previous versions of iOS have generally started to become available.
Whatever the case, it wouldn’t be shocking to a) not have an update notification on your phone right at 1pm and b) for Apple’s download servers to slow to a crawl for most of this afternoon. Again, neither of these things are guaranteed, but that’s what’s happened in the past.
If you feel the urge to download iOS 7 as soon as humanly possible, repeatedly checking your device for updates or repeatedly checking the iTunes software on your computer for updates would be a fine activity today. You just don’t need to engage in that activity for another few hours or so.
If you’re able to exercise a little patience, however, I’d suggest waiting until later tonight or even tomorrow. Some people – and this is going to sound crazy – even wait weeks for the first minor iOS 7 update to roll out, which generally addresses various glitches and bugs people experience with the initial installation.
While you’re waiting, it might not be a bad idea to back up your iPhone this morning just in case things go off the rails. PCMag has a pretty thorough iOS updating guide here.