DECEMBER 2021 MACWORLD 29cooler features are exclusive to newer
hardware. If you have an iPhone XS or
later, you’re good to go. But those with
an iPhone 8 or X or earlier will miss out
on stuff like spatial audio and portrait
mode in FaceTime, live text in photos,
and offline Siri processing. We have a
guide to which iOS 15 features are
available on which iPhone models
(fave.co/3bvdqiF).
Then there’s the ever-present worry
about serious bugs. Apple’s internal
testing and beta processes are a lot better
than they used to be, but new bugs are
almost always discovered when the latest
software gets pushed out to a few
hundred million users. The most common
bugs have been addressed with the first
few software updates, and with iOS 15.1 out
now, you shouldn’t be overly concerned
about them.
Finally, there’s the
issue of apps. It’s not
like new iOS releases
break apps very often,
but apps do need an
update in order to
take advantage of
new frameworks,
APIs, and OS features.
Depending on how
you use your iPhone,
the latest iOS update
may not do a whole
lot for you until your favorite apps are
updated, too. For many popular apps,
that happens within a week or two. But if
none of the apps you use every day make
use of iOS 15 in any way, you’re not
missing a whole lot by waiting.
Honestly, though, there’s very little
reason to wait any longer than the first few
updates, and we’re now past that stage.MACWORLD RECOMMENDS:
U PDATE
Apple quickly addressed the most
obvious bugs in iOS 15 with point-release
updates. And now iOS 15.1 (fave.
co/3w2BZNo) is out with SharePlay and
several other tweaks, including nice new
features for the iPhone 13 Pro. It’s safe to
say that, barring some bizarre revelation,
iOS 15 is now at least as stable as iOS 14
ever was—and it’s more secure. ■All these great features, free! Why would anyone want to wait?