iOS 7 hits next week ahead of iPhone 5S and 5C launch

iOS 7, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system, will arrive next week.

The upgraded OS will arrive on September 18th, and supports Iphone 4 and up, iPad 2 and up, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation of iPod touch devices.

Apple has been beta testing the upcoming OS for the past several months, and will add improvements over previous versions such as a revamped Game Center, a kids category for App Store games and support for third-party game controllers and other peripherals.

The release comes just a few days ahead of the launch of the just announced iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C models.

"iOS 7 will quickly become the world’s most popular operating system," said Apple CEO Tim Cook during the company’s event today in California.

Cook added that by the end of October, Apple will have sold over 700m iOS devices.