The first item on your to-do list, if you’ve bought one of Apple’s new iPhones, should be to update the operating system.
The (unofficial) Twitter account Apple Software Updates, which reports on new software updates for the company’s products, has revealed that the latest generation of iPhones will ship with “an earlier version of iOS 16,” and explains that customers will get a day-one update to the final release build.
Customers may be tempted to ignore this and get on with the business of enjoying their new device. But this is not recommended. According to the release notes, the day-one update provides a number of bug fixes, including one issue that “may cause some photos to appear soft when zooming in landscape orientation on iPhone 14 Pro Max.”
Perhaps that isn’t a deal-breaker, but we don’t know what other irritations and misbehaviors are patched by the update, and it makes sense to get the best possible experience from your new device.
iPhone buyers aren’t the only ones to face this chore on launch day this fall. Apple Software Updates separately notes that the new Apple Watch Series 8 also has a day-one update. Indeed, something similar occurred last year with the iPhone 13 and two iPad models; a rather more serious bug that prevented users from playing Apple Music tracks presented on launch day in 2021 and had to be patched with a software update.
We explain how to update iOS on your iPhone in a separate article.
Author: David Price, Editor
David has loved the iPhone since covering the original 2007 launch; later his obsession expanded to include iPad and Apple Watch. He offers advice to owners (and prospective owners) of these devices.