Today, Monday, September 16th, Apple will officially release iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 (along with macOS Sequoia, tvOS 18, and watchOS 11). This is a major system update that brings a good amount of changes. Moreover, it marks a good time to do some cleaning and to prepare our devices for its arrival.
Before we get into the subject, let’s remember that iOS 18 is compatible with most devices that could already be updated to iOS 17. If we have an iPhone XR, XS, or XS Max, as well as a second or third-generation iPhone SE or any iPhone after any of the iPhone 11 models, we will be able to install the new update.
On the other hand, iPadOS 18 no longer supports iPad models with A10X Fusion chip, so it will only be compatible with iPad Pro from 2018 onwards, iPad Air from 2019 onwards, iPad mini from 2019 onwards, and iPad from 2020 onwards.
1. Time to clean up
One of the first steps before installing iOS 18 is to do some cleaning. We can start by deleting apps that we no longer use. The easiest way to be efficient in this process is to open the Settings app, go to General, and then go to iPhone/iPad Storage. We can delete the apps we no longer use from the list at the bottom. Remember that deleting one or two from the top of the list is more important in terms of space than deleting 10 from the bottom.
Without deleting the apps themselves, it is also a good idea to review what apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Podcasts, and others accumulate. We can delete downloads, remove conversations, clear caches, and do some cleaning.
Let’s pay attention to the recommendations that appear right in this section. For example, activate storage optimization in Maps, Podcasts, Music, and TV to remove content we haven’t used in a while. Alternatively, we can manually review the downloaded items from these four apps. It’s also a good idea to go to Settings > Safari and tap on Clear history and website data.
2. And make a good backup
Apple offers us two backup options: iCloud or a local backup on our computer. The iCloud backup is the most convenient, and we should definitely make one before updating to iOS 18, but a local backup stored on our computer is taking it a step further.
When archiving, this copy will never be replaced by a newer version, so we can always go back to it whenever we need to. How will we do it? It’s very easy. We can open a Finder window, select our device (previously plugged into the Mac) in the sidebar, and click on Back up now. If we use Windows, we can do the same, but through iTunes.
Once the copy is made, we just have to click on Manage copies, right-click, and choose Archive to archive it.
Ready, now what?
Now, we just have to wait. When iOS 18 is available, we will be able to install it as an OTA (Over-The-Air) update. We just have to open the Settings app, go to General and tap on Software Update to download and install the new version. Let’s remember to have the device with enough battery and connected to a Wi-Fi network.
That’s it. As we say goodbye to the Apple ID—our iPhone and iPad will be updated to iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, respectively, and we will be able to enjoy all the new features.
