Apple enthusiasts have always eagerly awaited the tech juggernaut’s releases, whether it be a new iPhone unit or simply a new update to their operating system. Following the excitement over Apple’s September event that announced the new iPhone 13 series and newest iPad and iPad mini, our attention is now being pulled towards iOS 15. The new operating system just dropped early this morning, so here are some of the features to watch out for and our thoughts on whether you should *really* install the new iOS immediately or not:
Focus better
With the new Focus feature, you can easily set different notification preferences depending on your mood. Working? Mute all nonwork notifs. On break? Tell your contacts you can talk now. Whatever you need, you can easily set it up with Focus and the new redesigned notifications section.
All-new Safari
It’s not just the notifications bar that got a new look; Safari looks sleeker this time around, too. You can navigate through your tabs much more easily, especially as you can create different tab groups depending on their use and relevance. Make one for socials, another for shopping, another for research, and more.
FaceTime with Android
Finally, Apple is allowing you to FaceTime with family and friends even if they don’t have an iPhone. You can reach out to contacts who are using Windows and Android through the FaceTime app. With iOS 15, you can even use SharePlay to watch movies and series or listen to music simultaneously with family and friends.
Live Text for Photos
The best thing to happen to students ever! With Live Text, you can scan photos for text and copy and paste the contents taken directly from the photo itself. Smart note-taking, here we go.
Which iPhone model is it compatible with?
The iOS 15 can be installed in the following models:
- iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone SE (first and second generation
Meanwhile, the iPadOS 15 is compatible with the following devices:
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st – 5th generation)
- 11-inch iPad Pro (1st – 3rd generation)
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- iPad (5th – 9th generation)
- iPad Mini (5th – 6th generation)
- iPad mini 4
- iPad Air (3rd – 4th generation)
- iPad Air 2
But just because you’re seeing your iPhone model on this list, does that mean you should install the new iOS upon its release?
You might want to wait
The temptation to explore the new features might be hard to resist — but resist you must! It’d be better for you, since you might just end up high-key frustrated.
Day-one updates aren’t as smooth as they used to be, so you may end up encountering a lot of bugs that would hamper your everyday device use. The rollout of iOS 14 had a lot of bugs, so it was a pretty frustrating start to what should’ve been an exciting week.
Beyond the bugs in the operating system itself, the developers behind your apps would also need to roll out their own updates on their apps to keep up with the new iOS. Which means more bugs and incompatibilities. So it’s really best to take some time before you install the new iOS 15. If you ever decide to install it, that is.
Should you really install it though?
You also need to consider how old of a model your device is. Many long-time Apple customers have experienced that the older the model is, the slower their devices become over time, especially with the release of new iOS updates. Apple confirmed this in 2017.
So if you’ve got, say, an iPhone 6S that was released in 2015 (six years ago!), you might want to think twice before installing the iOS 15.
How to install
If you’re reaaallyyy sure that you’re ready to face all the bugs and whatnot, updating your iPhone or iPad to the latest OS is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Go to ‘Settings.’
- Select ‘General.’
- Select ‘Software Update.’
- Wait for your phone to finish ‘Checking for Update.’
- Click ‘Download and Install.’
And tada! You just need to wait for the software to finish installing and you’ve got a device running on iOS 15.
In case you missed it, details on the new models of iPhones and iPads to be released in the market next are out. You can read more about the announcements here (and whether you should get a new iPhone or not):
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