iOS 16: Update now or wait?

Now that iOS 16 has arrived, you’re probably counting down the minutes before you can head over to Settings and get it on your iPhone as soon as possible. But wait! Maybe it’s not a good idea to rush into it. Major iOS updates often have significant bugs at first, and some of the coolest features come in later updates.

When is the right time to download iOS 16? Are most users having a good experience, or do bugs and other problems abound? If you’re trying to decide whether to hit that update button or not, perhaps this article will provide some guidance.

Updated 10/25/22: With the release of iOS 16.1, we now recommend most users upgrade from iOS 15, if you haven’t already.

iOS 16: Why you should update now

Simply put, iOS 16 is full of great new features for your iPhone. The most obvious of which is the awesome new customizable lock screen. There’s new stuff in Focus, you can edit and unsend iMessages, schedule and recall email in Mail, dictation is greatly improved, there’s a haptic keyboard, you can instantly cut the subject out of any image, and more.

The release of iOS 16.1 added more useful features, including Live Activities and iCloud Shared Photo Library.

iOS 16: Why you should wait

No iOS release is bug-free, and it’s always possible that you’re going to run into problems you didn’t have before. That said, between the new features and security updates present in iOS 16.1, we really think most users will be much better off if they grabbed the latest version. Just expect your iPhone to be a little slow and battery life to be a little worse for the first few days after the update–this is not atypical at all.

Macworld recommends: UPDATE

Now that Apple has released iOS 16.1, with additional features, tweaks, bug fixes, and security updates, we think it’s in the best interest of everyone with a phone capable of running it to get the update.

Read our comparison of iOS 16 vs iOS 15.