I heard from a colleague that the latest generation of iOS, iOS 18, just appeared, but my phone isn’t prompting me to upgrade! How can I get it to see the new OS and get the latest and greatest on my iPhone 14?
As is fairly common with Apple, the iOS 18 update has launched in mid-September of the year. Specifically, at 10:00am Pacific Time. It has a raft of nice new features, but I’m most excited because it sets everything up for the addition of Apple Intelligence, Apple’s AI update to the entire smartphone experience. Now, read that carefully to set expectations: This release of iOS 18 doesn’t actually include AI features, but that’ll be coming soon, in the iOS 18.1 update in a month or two.
Updates included in this first release of iOS 18 are pretty substantial too, however. Here’s a summary list: new home screen customizations, updates to the Messages app, a redesign for the Control Center, and a complete redesign of Photos. Other apps will have new features or improved interface elements (I really like the subtle changes to the Calendar program, for example) but you can find those yourself.
Enough talking, let’s check and find the darn update!
IF YOU CHECK AND SEE THIS…
I started checking early this morning since its release date. Generally, that’s not beneficial because it doesn’t mean that anyone gets the OS update early. Still, here’s the basic move: Go to the Settings app, then tap on “General” and look for “Software Update”:
This is how you should always check for bug fixes, security patches, and anything else related to iOS updates. You can find app updates by going to the App Store, of course!
Tap on “Software Update“. If you see this…
Then for some reason there’s no update available. Try again in 30 minutes. If you aren’t expecting an update, an occasional visit to “Software Update” is good digital hygiene and will keep your iPhone running the latest and greatest.
IF THERE IS AN UPDATE AVAILABLE
Almost every update that appears offers one choice. Easy. Interestingly, Apple didn’t do that with iOS 18.0.0, instead offering two possible upgrades:
I’ve owned Apple iPhones since the very first model (now known as the iPhone 1) and I don’t recall ever seeing the option to update the current OS or update to the new OS, but it’s a great option; if you aren’t ready for the iOS 18 changes – though they’re not huge – you can at least get the very latest version of iOS 17 by tapping on “Update Now“.
Buuuuuut…. we don’t want to tap on that, we want iOS 18! To get that version, tap on “Upgrade to iOS 18” instead. Apple conveniently offers a description of what’s new and interesting in this latest version of iOS, but you can also just jump to the buttons on the bottom…
Notice that it’s almost a 4GB download so I would highly recommend that you’re on a fast wireless connection before you proceed. If you opt for “Update Tonight” it won’t really matter even if it takes a few hours for that download, however. Why? Because hopefully you’ll be sleeping!
I don’t want to wait so I’m going to tap on “Update Now” to proceed.
The phone prompts me for a security PIN, then offers up Terms and Conditions, but, finally, I get here:
The process is: Download, Verify, Prepare, Install. The above indicates that phase #1 is just about done, which moves directly into…
It’ll chug along – these processes can take 5-15 minutes each – so it’s best you do something else while the phone slogs along through the process. Eventually it will actually be ready for the installation:
Why does it show this confirmation? Because your iPhone is going to be out of commission for at least 5-10 minutes, screen off, while it’s doing its thing in the background. I’m fine with that so just let it timeout and begin…
That’s the last thing you see before it shuts down to actually perform the update.
YOU’RE RUNNING THE NEW IOS!
The screen does come back on for a few progress displays (with the Apple logo) but it’s going to be a few minutes. This is a good time to go make a cuppa tea or check the mail. Eventually, it’ll start up and you’ll see your same login screen. That hasn’t changed. There is a notification that pops up, however:
That’s promising! You can double check by going back to Settings > General. This has changed, now featuring an information section above the various choices, and there’s a new choice too: “iPhone Storage”. Nice!
Tap on “About” and you can see all about your Apple iPhone…
That all looks good. Notice also you can see my AppleCare is just about expired (in five days!) and that I have 10,025 songs, 16 videos, 1,252 photos, and a whopping 172 applications on my iPhone. Most importantly, I have iOS 18. Now to see what’s new…
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing tutorials for the Apple iPhone and the Mac since they were first released. Please check out my extensive iPhone help area and Mac help area for oodles of useful content.