As smartphone users, we live in the age of apps, and there are truly apps for any scenario you can think of. It also means most of us have more apps to keep track of. Thankfully, Apple added automatic app updates to iOS more than three years ago and has enabled it by default, so you don’t have to manually open the App Store and click “Update All” regularly.
There are pros and cons to this decision – obviously, you don’t want your application to be running an older version that may lack functionality or even stop working. However, automatic updates can mean your phone consumes data and battery power without warning. If you wish to update apps on your own schedule, all you need to do is turn off automatic updates. Here’s what you have to do to set up manual updates:
How to disable automatic app updates on iOS
Follow these steps to turn off automatic updates on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch:
- Open set up app.
- Swipe up until you find iTunes and App Store.
- Under Automatic Download, turn off the switch next to renew.
That’s all. If you’re too lazy to update apps yourself, you can always go to the other extreme and ensure that you always automatically have the latest version of every app.
How to enable automatic app updates on iOS
Follow these steps to turn on automatic updates on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch:
- Open set up app.
- Swipe up until you find iTunes and App Store.
- Under “Automatic downloads,” turn on the switch next to renew.
- If you want to update on the go, click Use mobile data as well as.
The last option won’t automatically update any apps over 100MB in size, though, and keep in mind that even unlimited data plans have policies with reasonable limits. If you open Use mobile data option, you may see a spike in mobile data usage and associated charges (if any). If you turn it off, your apps will not update automatically until you connect to a Wi-Fi network.
Unlike Android, you can’t selectively choose which apps to keep automatically updated. Once you turn on or off iOS automatic updates, all/any apps will not be updated to the latest available version without your permission.
What are your thoughts on iOS automatic updates? Let us know in the comments below. For more tutorials, visit our how-to section.