The successor to iOS 12, it was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 3, 2019, and released on September 19, 2019.

iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 were introduced by Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi at the WWDC keynote address on June 3, 2019.

[9][10] In August 2019, it was reported that beginning in April 2020, the PushKit API for VoIP would be restricted to internet telephone usage, closing a "loophole" that had been used by other apps for background data collection.

It can be manually turned on or set to automatically switch between light and dark modes based on the time of day.

This functionality was previously exclusively available via third-party keyboard applications such as SwiftKey, Adaptxt, Gboard, or Swype.

[18] iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 add a new system-wide gesture interface for cut, copy, paste, undo, and redo.

[21] All iOS applications that support third-party social login are required to implement Sign in with Apple,[22][23] The iOS human interface guidelines also state that Sign in with Apple should be given prominence above any other login provider in application interfaces.

[37] Released with the 2020 iPad Pro,[38] ARKit 3.5 vastly improved positioning in virtual environments due to new anchors and use of data from a LiDAR scanner.

[40] The version of iOS for iPad devices was renamed iPadOS, reflecting the precedence for the OS to include additional features intended primarily for use on tablets.

[41] iOS 13 adds official support for the Sony DualShock 4 and the Microsoft Xbox One controller.

[42] iOS 13 also adds support for wireless audio sharing for AirPods and certain Beats headphones.

[13][45] The Photos app includes a redesigned UI and uses machine learning to auto-hide "clutter" images such as screenshots and documents.

[47] There were a number of issues following the release of iOS 13, some relating to battery drain, call-dropping, and ringtones not functioning properly, resulting in frequent software updates and patches.

It drops support for all iPhones and iPod Touches using an Apple A7 or A8 SoC and devices that shipped with 1 GB of RAM[a].

To further differentiate features between iPhones and iPads, Apple rebranded the tablet-oriented platform with its own operating system, iPadOS.

17A861[d] See Apple's main page for iOS 13 release notes, as well as their 2019 and 2020 security update contents.