iOS 9: how to get new iPhone operating system, as Apple update is released

It's easy — and this time around, Apple has made it even easier

iOS 9 can now be easily downloaded onto your iPhone or iPad (Getty Images)

Apple's iOS 9 is now available, and can be easily downloaded onto your iPhone or iPad.

The new operating system can be requested by heading to the Settings app, tapping "General", and then selecting "Software Update". If it's ready, the phone will give you the option to download and then install it.

Some have run into problems after that installation, being hit by an error message telling them that "Software update failed". To get around that, users are recommended either to wait for the rush to die down, or to try and upgrade through iTunes.

The phone itself will guide you through the rest of the process. That might include deleting apps to make space — but Apple has made that less likely by slimming down the update, and also easier to do using a special tool that will suggest apps to delete and then re-install them once the process is over.

It's worth ensuring that your phone is charged or near a charger while the update happens, so that it doesn't run out of battery. If the charge is too low, Apple won't let the update go ahead, since the phone dying halfway through could lead to the update breaking.

You should also make sure that you've been through our checklist of all the things to do before you download, to try and stop things going wrong and protect against them if they do. iOS 9 brings new features including a much cleverer personal assistant and huge new productivity features for the iPad, as well as tweaks that speed up and fix the operating system.