Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Get your iPhones and iPads ready. iOS 12 is now officially available.

The latest update to the software that powers Apple’s iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch was released Monday, just like Apple promised at its recent event last week. 

The new update, available as a free download for most recent iPhones and iPads and the 6th generation iPod Touch, stresses performance improvements as well as new features to curb rising smartphone addiction, updates to CarPlay (including support for using apps such as Google Maps and Waze) and camera effects when video chatting in FaceTime and sending photos and videos in iMessage. 

More: With iOS 12 coming, who needs a new iPhone?

The list of iPhones and iPads that will see the new update is fairly extensive, dating back to 2013’s iPhone 5s and iPad Air. Chances are that if you’re currently using an iPhone or iPad, it will likely be able to get the update. 

The full list of iPhones for iOS 12: iPhone 5s, SE, 6, 6 Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X. The soon to be released iPhone XS, XS Max and October’s iPhone XR will also run iOS 12.

For iPads, the full list of supported tablets includes the iPad mini 2, mini 3 and mini 4; iPad Air and Air 2; iPad 5th generation (2017) and 6th generation (2018); 9.7-inch iPad Pro, 10.5-inch iPad Pro, 12.9-inch iPad Pro 1st generation and 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2nd generation.  

To install the update, go to Settings -> General -> Software Update on your iOS device to download. 

Is the update worth it? We tested a beta version on an older iPhone 6 and found that it did, indeed, speed up the phone, albeit sometimes only slightly. But as a free update, it certainly is worth a shot before you decide to spend hundreds of dollars upgrading to a new device.

Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2PM31lX