Apple officially launched iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 to the public last week, after introducing them at WWDC 2021 in June with a slew of new features including Focus mode, Live Text, a new Safari look, a revamped Weather app, and more. Have you updated your Apple devices to iOS 15 or iPadOS 15?
While iOS 15 is not as significant as iOS 14, it does have some interesting new features, which we demonstrate below. However, as Mixpanel recently observed, iOS 15 adoption has been slower in its early days than iOS 14 adoption over the same time period.
Apple is now allowing customers to continue on iOS 14 and still receive security updates if they don’t want to install iOS 15 or iPadOS 15. This is in addition to the more limited scope of the iOS 15 upgrade. When these two elements are combined, it’s no surprise that fewer people are interested in Apple’s newest mobile operating system.
If that wasn’t enough, several of the iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 features announced at WWDC 2021, such as SharePlay, Universal Control, ID Cards, and improved AirPods compatibility in the Find My app, have been postponed. Of course, some users who were eager to test out these new capabilities may have opted to wait for an iOS 15 upgrade in the future.
Even if your current iPhone is still functional, it doesn’t ensure it’ll be able to run iOS 15. If you own one of these iPhones, you are safe. (IOS 15 will be pre-installed on Apple’s new iPhone 13 range.)
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2020)
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone SE
You may either wait for your phone to notify you that it’s available via a pop-up alert, or you can force an update manually.
To update your software, go to Settings > General > Software Update. You may need to press Upgrade to iOS 15 at the bottom of the page before selecting Download and Install, or you may be immediately routed to Download and Install.
If your iPhone has a passcode, you’ll be required to input it in either case. Accept Apple’s terms and then sit tight. Update Requested will appear on the screen, indicating that Apple has added you to its download queue. You’ll notice a time estimate bar up top as it starts downloading; how long you’ll have to wait depends on how many others are trying to update at the same time. After that, your phone will need to reset, which may take a few minutes.