Updates are important but not everyone likes to install them the second they’re available. Some users prefer to defer updates, while others prefer they install automatically with little to no involvement on their own part. It’s a tricky thing to manage which is why in iOS 12, users can now choose to enable or disable Auto iOS updates.
On older versions of iOS, the next available version would automatically download if you device was sufficiently charged and connected to a WiFi network. It would never automatically install but you would see prompts to install it regularly, or schedule when to install it. As of iOS 12, you can prevent the update from downloading.
Auto iOS Updates
Open the Settings app and go to General. Tap Software Update and you will see an Automatic Updates option. Tap it, and turn the Automatic Updates option On or Off.
This option will prevent the next version of iOS from downloading on your device. You’re far less likely to accidentally update to the next version. Since newer versions of iOS slow down older devices, this will be a welcome feature and it’s only too bad that you have to update to the next version of iOS to get it.
Pros And Cons
This option will be useful given how iOS versions have begun to ship with quite a few bugs. Each new update brings its own bugs and while Apple does address them in the very next update, users may want to avoid an update that has bugs altogether until a version with a fix for said bug is available.
This does come with its own set of problems i.e., security updates will be deferred as well. Apple doesn’t differentiate between security updates and feature updates like Microsoft does for Windows 10. As such, if you turn off auto iOS updates, you likely will not automatically install any important security updates that may be the sole purpose of an iOS update.
This option is unlikely to impact how many users update to the next version of iOS though. iOS conversion rates are 90% within the first month a new major version is released. Unlike Windows 10 users who do everything humanly possible to avoid a feature update, iOS users actively wait for and install the next version.
Apple is obviously giving its users more control over their devices. With iOS 11. it gave users the option to turn off throttling for devices with aging batteries and now it’s giving them more leeway with installing updates.
