Last week, Apple announced that it would be releasing the latest version of its mobile operating system on Wednesday, September 18th. That’s tomorrow. And honestly, we couldn’t be more excited.
This will be the largest update to the platform since it was first introduced in 2007, bringing about an all-new design and several new features like Control Center, AirDrop sharing and iTunes Radio.
Of course, Apple has been seeding betas of iOS 7 to developers since June, but this is the first time it will be open to the public. So we thought we’d put this list together of things to help you get ready…
As usual, our first responsibility is to warn you that iOS 7 has not been successfully jailbroken yet. The evad3rs are working on it, but there’s no ETA. If you update, you will not be able to jailbreak.
It’s also worth noting here that we have seen some signs of an impending iOS 6.1.3/6.1.4 jailbreak being released to the public. So even if you’re not currently jailbroken, it may be worth it to wait.
Now that that’s out of the way, here’s some useful tips for those that plan on updating:
- Save your SHSH blobs – if you’ve ever jailbroken your device, or plan on doing so in the future, save your SHSH blobs. It just takes a couple of seconds, and it’s your only hope of ever being able to downgrade, should that ever become an option in the future.
- Check device compatibility – while iOS 7 will be available for a number of devices, not all of them will support all of its new features. AirDrop, for example, is only supported by the iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad mini, and iPod touch 5. Click here for the complete list of device compatibility.
- Back up your devices – it’s always a good idea to backup your devices before updating to a new firmware. Sometimes, though it’s not common, updates can error out while installing, thus wiping out all of your data. You can backup your device either by syncing it with iTunes, or through the iCloud menu. And if you need help, we have several tutorials on how to do this.
- Download the latest version of iTunes – right now, iTunes 11.0.5 is the latest version of the software, but we expect to see iTunes 11.1 land tomorrow. Either way, you’ll want to make sure you have the most recent version available so that you’ll have all the latest features and bug fixes.
- How to download iOS 7 – if Apple follows previous patterns, and we have no reason to believe that it won’t, iOS 7 will be available to users via both an over-the-air update and a full download through iTunes. If you’re unsure about which to go with, tune into iDB tomorrow for more information.
It’s also worth noting that not all apps have been updated to be compatible with the new firmware yet. So if you have an app, or apps, that you use everyday, it’s worth looking into them before you update.
We expect Apple to release iOS 7 sometime tomorrow morning. We’ll let you know as soon as it hits, and will be providing updates on new features and other commentary on the software throughout the day.
So, who’s planning on updating tomorrow?
