iOS 7 to be released to the public September 10

Apple's first major overhaul of its mobile operating system will arrive in the shape of iOS 7, and now we know that it'll be available to the general public from September 10.

The news comes from writer Owen Williams, who has managed to obtain an email on the subject from Nuance, a major developer of speech and motion recognition apps that also worked closely with Apple on Siri.

In the email to NDEV developers, Nuance says "As you are probably aware, iOS 7 GA will be released on September 10th."

It's widely accepted that Apple will launch its next generation iPhone, the iPhone 5S, as well as a custom made cheaper iPhone called the iPhone 5C, at a special event on September 10.

As such, it was assumed that iOS 7 would be fully revealed in its finished state on that same date. However, this news claims that the new OS will be released to the public on this day.

This could well mean that the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will be ready to roll out to shops very soon after September 10 - or even on September 10 itself. This would be an unprecedented move for Apple's iPhone range, as the company usually launches its smartphones a couple of weeks after announcing them.

Of course, this is still a significantly faster turn-around time than most of its rivals manage, but a same-day launch would certainly be a significant achievement from Apple.

iOS 7 will feature redesigned icons and fonts, with a flatter look that does away with those real world-based textures. It will also add a drag-up settings menu and vastly improved multitasking, and each of its stock apps will be overhauled to match the new style.