Nelson Aguilar is an LA-based tech how-to writer and graduate of UCLA. With more than a decade of experience, he covers Apple and Google and writes on iPhone and Android features, privacy and security settings and more.
Apple is expected to release iOS 18 for everyone on Monday, Sept. 16. The latest software update for the iPhone will be available for download starting at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET today.
But there are a few things you should know before you attempt to install iOS 18.
iOS 18 brings several major changes, as well as smaller tweaks, to your phone, including a more customizable home screen, a redesigned control center and photo album, the ability to lock and hide your apps, RCS support for better text messaging with Android users and more.
If you want to download and install iOS 18 today, here's everything you need to know.
For more, check out the 9 best hidden features on iOS 18, as well as the 7 things you should do right after downloading iOS 18.
iOS 18 does not work on every iPhone, but fortunately the list of supported devices is pretty extensive. You can download and install iOS 18 on the iPhone XR or XS (release in 2018) and later.
Unfortunately, Apple Intelligence feature will start rolling out next month, in October, with the release of iOS 18.1. If you want to try out some AI features right now, like text message summaries and voice memo transcriptions, you can try out the developer beta of iOS 18.1, but you'll need either the iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max or the iPhone 16.
Not everyone will be happy with everything that iOS 18 has to offer, which is why it's important to take precautions before updating from iOS 17. The best way to protect yourself is to back up your iPhone before you update to iOS 18, because this will give you the ability to revert to iOS 17 if iOS 18 doesn't work out for you.
While you can update your iPhone via iCloud (Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now), this isn't the right back up for restoring back to an older iOS version. What you want to do instead is back up your iPhone with your computer and then create an archive backup.
Check out Jeff's guide on how to back up your iPhone the right way if you want to learn how to create a local archive on your Mac or Windows computer.
Once you've backed up your compatible iPhone, you'll need to do the following so that the installation process goes smoothly:
You should also check out these easy tricks for optimizing your iPhone storage.
Now comes the easy part -- downloading and installing iOS 18.
On your supported iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If you do this right at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, you may need to wait a few seconds or minutes for the update to appear. Once it does, hit Install Now to install iOS 18 on your phone. Enter your passcode to begin the update process.
You should see a loading bar, along with an estimate of how long it will take to download and install iOS 18. Once the download is complete, your phone will restart and iOS 18 should be downloaded on your device.