iOS 13.1: iPhone and iPad users urged to download latest software update

New version of operating system comes with wide array of bug fixes

Apple Vice President of worldwide iPod, iPhone, and iOS product marketing Greg Joswiak speaks during the Apple Special Event in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California (EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO)

Apple has released its later iPhone and iPad operating system, and users have been urged to download it.

The update marks the first time the latest software has been available for the iPad, and includes a range of vital updates for iPhones.

Those phones that downloaded last week's iOS 13 update but have not yet upgraded to iOS 13.1 are vulnerable to a whole host of bugs, which arrived with the latest software.

Apple pushed out the latest iPhone software last week, apparently to ensure it would be ready for the release of the new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.

But it appeared to not be entirely finished, shipping with a number of bugs and unfinished features. Apple said those would be fixed later, with an updated that would be numbered iOS 13.1.

Tha was initially said to be coming at the end of the month but seemed to be pushed forward and was released overnight.

Users can get hold of it now by heading to the Settings app, choosing "General" and clicking the software update button. The download should be waiting in there.

As well as the iPhone update, the release of iOS 13.1 allows iPad users to get the new version of the software – now called iPadOS – for the first time. And it has also come to the Apple TV, too.

That means that, among other new features, all of those platforms now have access to the Apple Arcade game subscription service.

iOS 13.1 does include some improvements and new features: it adds support for the mysterious Ultra Wideband technology on the new iPhone, which is used for a new Airdrop interface, as well as improvements to the Shortcuts app and the option to share an ETA in the Maps app. It also adds a new power feature, which is built to reduce the time your phone spends fully charged, as well as other alterations to the way it handles batteries.

But the majority of the changes are bug fixes, and the list of those is vast. The notes on the update make mention of bug fixes in Mail, Messages, Reminders, Notes, the camera, the home screen and more – and there may be other changes that are not listed.