Around 95 per cent of a sample of iOS developers said they are working to update their apps for the forthcoming iOS7.

Craig Hockenberry, a developer at Twitterrific maker The Icon Factory, asked developers whether they were working on iOS7 optimised apps. Of the 575 self-selected respondents, 545 said they are working on an iOS7 update, a 95 per cent adoption rate.

Hockenberry also found that 284 (52 per cent) of the developers in the sample were going to require iOS7 for their apps and drop support for iOS6.

The sample suggests that many apps will be available for iOS7 when it arrives in the autumn. But with half of developers planning to drop iOS6 support, app users may want to consider upgrading their devices swiftly, Hockenbury noted.

He also pointed out that the main issue when adapting games to new operating systems is changing navigational and content elements. With games largely made up of content elements, they are more likely to be supported by older versions of iOS once the update arrives.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook announced iOS7 in June he said that it will be “the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone”.

New features will include the Control Center, which provides access to commonly-used settings, and AirDrop for sharing content with other iOS users via Wi-Fi. The iOS7 SDK also includes more than 1,500 new APIs for developers.

The new iOS will be available for iPhone 4 and later models, along with the iPad 2 and upwards.