[REVIEW] : When does iPhone automatically install iOS updates?

Little explanation from Craig Federighi on the rhythm of sending iOS updates to users. This is certainly not new in principle but it will enlighten those who have activated the automatic installation option and who are wondering about the time taken by their iPhone or iPad to update itself.

Asked about this by a user, the boss of the software at Apple replied that the distribution was done in two main stages. Are served first those who, informed that a system update is available, will manually force its recovery in the settings (typically, with us, Mickaël, when he makes news of this type on iGen).

Apple explains why automatic iOS updates come late

A Simple Explanation for Understanding System Update Delays While it’s generally accepted that the option of manually going to Settings -> General -> Software Update is the fastest, Apple has never really explained why automatic firmware updates tend to reach users sometimes days or even weeks later.

Mateusz Buda, an interested iPhone user, posed this question in an email to Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior VP of software engineering. In his post, Buda explains that he had enabled automatic updates, and yet, two weeks after the public release of iOS 15.4, he still hadn’t received an update notification. “What conditions must be met for this function to be triggered?” Buda asked. To his surprise, Federighi answered and was happy to explain. Hello Mateusz, We are rolling out new iOS updates gradually, first making them available to those who explicitly search for them in Settings, then 1-4 weeks later (after receiving feedback on the update) , we move on to deploying devices that have auto-update enabled.

iOS 15.4: Apple confirms that the update causes iPhones to lose battery life

Only one solution: patience

During an update, the system recreates file indexes, which may take longer or shorter depending on the amount of data stored on the phone. During this process, the iPhone can then consume more, especially at night when it is on standby.

And what Apple responded to Internet users confirms it:

“Your apps and services need to adjust after an update, which can take up to 48 hours. If after this time, your reduced autonomy is still relevant, contact us and we will study your problem in more detail.

This response from Apple is not surprising. In the past, after each big iOS update, especially the biggest ones, a drop in battery life was common. While some builds stabilize on their own after a few days, others have genuine battery issues that are usually quickly fixed with a new update.

iOS updates roll out over four weeks

Some users are sometimes surprised that the latest versions of iOS are not installed on their iPhone while the automatic installation of updates is activated in the system settings: this sometimes happens with several weeks of . One user posed the question directly to Craig Federighi, and Apple’s software engineering boss replied, “We are rolling out iOS updates in stages, first making them available to those who Explicitly search by going to Settings, then between one and four weeks later (after we receive feedback on the update) for devices that have automatic updates enabled. »

This lag helps prevent servers from overheating in the days following the launch of new versions of iOS, and Craig Federighi explains to us that it also allows Apple to make changes if it turns out that a bad bug crept into the initial update. The “” of automatic updates is therefore completely voluntary, and it is even a precautionary measure to prevent certain quickly identifiable bugs from being deployed globally.