Mark your calendar: Apple announces OS X El Capitan and iOS 9 release dates

While the new iPhones, iPad Pro, and Apple TV occupied most of the spotlight at Wednesday’s Apple event, the company did reveal the ship dates for its two upcoming operating systems, iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

iOS 9: September 16

The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system will be available a few days before the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus start shipping on September 25.

You can upgrade your iOS device to iOS 9 on the device itself though the Settings app (General > Software Update). You can also download iOS 9 on your Mac through iTunes, and then upgrade to the new operating system with your iOS device connected to your Mac.

To get more info about the features in iOS 9:

• 15 new iOS 9 features that are rocking our world
• iOS 9: Five small features that will change your life
• How iOS 9 fixes HealthKit’s woman problem
• Hands-on with Maps in iOS 9: Introducing public transit and more accurate data
• Mail in iOS 9: Three huge changes that will make email less awful
• Meet the new Notes, iOS 9’s feature-packed Evernote rival
• Hands-on with News in iOS 9: Apple’s response to Facebook and Snapchat’s content platforms
• Hands-on with iOS 9’s slick new multitasking features for iPad
• Hands-on with iCloud Drive, a brand-new app in the iOS 9 public beta

OS X El Capitan: September 30

Though Apple didn’t single out El Capitan during the Wednesday event to announce a release date, it was revealed during the iPhone demo by Apple SVP Craig Federighi. An email message that Federighi showed stated the El Capitan release date as September 30.

Users can upgrade their Macs to El Capitan through the App Store. The upgrade is free. Before you upgrade, you should back up your data.

Want to learn about El Capitan’s new features? We have a bunch of first look articles you can read:

• First look OS X El Capitan beta
• Hands-on with Safari 9 in El Capitan: Little changes make a big difference
• Hands-on with Notes 4 in El Capitan
• With Split View in El Capitan, going full screen makes sense
• Hands-on with Mail 9 in El Capitan: Improved full-screen support, swipe gestures, and more
• Hands-on with Maps in El Capitan: Public transportation gets front and center