Hot News: iOS 8 Arrives: Should You Upgrade Right Now?

Among the improvements in iOS 8 are changes to the Photos app.

What a difference a year makes. When iOS 7 was looming in 2013, excitement was at a fever pitch to download the newest software from Apple. With such a significant visual change, everyone couldn't wait to get hold of the new look and feel. iOS 8, on the other hand, brings little in the way of new visuals, but much more under the hood. In many ways, it's a more exciting upgrade for those who live on their mobile devices. Yet a great deal of the potential is tied to an upgrade of Apple's Mac OS X, called Yosemite, that isn't expected until next month. And most apps will need upgrades to exploit the most powerful features of iOS 8. In short, after running the new OS for months, I can tell you it's mostly safe to upgrade today but if you choose to wait, you won't necessarily feel left out. If you do go ahead, here are some upgrade pitfalls to consider: Step 1: Can you even get iOS 8?

Odds are the answer is yes. Every iPad will work with the upgrade except the first generation model. All iPhones from the iPhone 4S on will, too. That means all iPhone 5 variants, but not the plain old iPhone 4 (which is now a 4-year-old model) or anything before it. If you have a 5th-generation iPod Touch, that's the only series that will work (the Touch hasn't been upgraded in some time, so many out there will qualify). Apple doesn't do this to obsolete devices on purpose, but rather because of performance issues. Older iPhones have slower processors and sometimes less memory, too. iOS 8 should run well on most older devices.

One challenge for some might be finding space on the device for the upgrade to take. This could especially be true if you have an 8GB or 16GB model, but might affect anyone whose iPhone or iPad is nearly full. To free up room, first figure out if you can easily find some apps to delete. You can typically get them back later from the App Store (even paid apps will come back, without requiring you to pay again). The way to do this is to go into Settings -> General and look at the Storage section on top of the screen. Don't look at iCloud - we'll talk about that in the next section. You'll see two numbers below the word STORAGE telling you how much is Available and how much is Used. It can be slow, but eventually you should get a list of how much space each app is using.

If you get bored, just delete apps you don't use. Eventually, you'll find the Available amount increasing and once you have 2-3GB, you should be good to go. (The exact amount might be more or less). Step 2: Backup (and maybe upgrade your iCloud storage)

If you caught some of my recent posts, you already know how essential this step is. But it's important to reiterate. Though these upgrades tend to be reliable, you're going to want to make a current iCloud (or iTunes) backup before you begin - just in case. Go to Settings -> iCloud -> Storage & Backup. Before you hit the Back Up Now button, though, take a look at that screen. You'll see a line called 'Total Storage' and one right below that called 'Available'. If the total on the available line is in the megabytes, i.e. it ends up MB, you definitely need a new plan. Even if you have a gigabyte or two, you still might.

The good news is that Apple is now selling a 20GB plan for just $0.99 per month and a 200GB plan for $3.99 per month. If you select Change Storage Plan, you can buy the upgrade right there, in real-time and then do your backup. (You'll need your Apple password). Some of you may find that Apple has already upgraded your plan, at no charge, from what you had before. That's because your old plan doesn't exist anymore and they're giving you a special rate to cover the transition. Enjoy.

Important warning: If you use Apple's Pages, Keynote or Numbers (or any app you think might store data files in iCloud) on a Mac, you do not want to activate iCloud Drive yet. If you do, you'll lose access to those files outside of iOS. iCloud Drive is essentially a clone of Dropbox that works with all of your files, but you'll need Yosemite on your Mac to access it. So be patient for about a month.

Anyway, be sure this is done before proceeding. Not just on your iPhone, but also on your iPad. The few minutes you spend are worth it. Step 2: Upgrade (It's expected Apple will make iOS 8 available at 1 pm Eastern/10 am Pacific) and wait for the apps

Most of you have done this before. How do I know? Because more than 90% of devices have iOS 7 even though many were sold with earlier versions. Plug in somewhere, get on WiFi and hit General -> Software Update -> Install Now. You'll need your passcode (if you have one) and then you'll wait.

Once you complete the upgrade, you can expect a lot of apps to receive upgrades, too. If you haven't turned on automatic app updates (Settings -> iTunes and App Store -> Updates), now is a good time. I've seen dozens of apps upgrades over the past several days and most of them run OK, though ESPN's hasn't been stable for me at any point during the iOS 8 beta. Some odd behavior with Apple's Photos app appears fixed at last.

New functionality is another matter. One iOS 8 feature allows you to replace the default keyboard with one like Swype, which Android users have had access too for eons. There should be approved ones on the App Store, but without one installed, the feature basically doesn't exist. (Swype, incidentally, should be on the App Store for 99 cents sometime today). The same is true for what Apple calls Extensions, which will allow apps to better talk to one another. Though I'll have a much more comprehensive look at this in an upcoming post, suffice it to say that anyone who uses Pinterest, Evernote or any app that benefits from grabbing content from the web will love this. That is, once it's actually available.

The same is true of Apple's Continuity and Handoff features. The Mac side of these features - which allow you to seamlessly move between your computer and iPad or iPhone - only exists in beta right now. Without it, the features are there, and yet not, at the same time.

iOS 8 is sprinkled with a lot of improvements. In upcoming posts, I'll give you a deep look at many of them. In the meantime, you should feel free to upgrade today if you must. But you shouldn't worry if you get an error message from Apple's servers being overloaded. This upgrade has a lot to offer; it'll just take some time to realize its potential. Follow me on Twitter. Read the rest of my Forbes posts here.

Post By http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2014/09/17/ios-8-arrives-should-you-upgrade-right-now/