Keeping apps updated is one of the simplest ways to make sure your iPhone runs smoothly, stays secure, and has access to the newest features developers release. There are two main approaches, automatic and manual, and understanding both gives you full control over exactly how and when your apps update.
For automatic updates, which is the easiest hands-off approach for most users, go to Settings, scroll down and tap App Store, then find the Automatic Downloads section and toggle on App Updates. Once switched on, your iPhone will quietly download and install new app versions in the background, typically overnight while your phone is connected to Wi-Fi and charging, so you wake up to fully updated apps without lifting a finger.
If you’d rather stay in control of exactly what updates and when, manual updating through the App Store is straightforward. Open the App Store app, tap your profile picture in the top-right corner of the screen, and scroll to the Available Updates section. This lists every app with a pending update, along with a brief description of what changed in that version if the developer has included release notes. Tap Update beside any individual app, or tap Update All to install everything listed at once.
One advantage of updating manually is being able to read what’s changed before installing, which some users prefer, particularly if a previous update to an app caused problems and they want to check whether a fix has genuinely been addressed. It also gives you the option to skip an update temporarily if you suspect a new version might remove a feature you rely on, at least until you’ve had a chance to read user feedback about it.
If updates seem stuck or aren’t downloading, first check your internet connection and available storage, since large updates can require several hundred megabytes of free space, viewable under Settings, General, then iPhone Storage. A stuck update can often be resolved by tapping directly on the app’s progress icon on your Home Screen to pause and resume the download, or by restarting your iPhone entirely to clear whatever temporary glitch is interrupting the process.
For families sharing an Apple ID through Family Sharing, it’s worth knowing that automatic update settings are typically managed per device rather than per account, so each family member’s iPhone needs its own Automatic Downloads setting configured individually in Settings if you want consistent behaviour across every device in the household.
Whether you prefer letting your iPhone handle everything automatically or manually reviewing each update before installing, both approaches take only a couple of minutes to set up correctly. Given how frequently updates patch genuine security vulnerabilities, it’s worth checking at least occasionally, even with automatic updates enabled, that your most important apps are actually running their latest version.
If you’re specifically trying to update just one app that you use daily and don’t want to wait for a scheduled automatic update, you can search for it directly in the App Store’s search tab and tap Update if a new version is shown on its listing page, which is often faster than scrolling through the full Available Updates list, especially if you have a large number of apps installed.
It’s also worth being aware that some app updates change core functionality or remove features entirely, which occasionally frustrates long-time users. Reading an app’s release notes before updating, visible on its App Store page under What’s New, is a quick way to spot major changes ahead of time, and if a significant issue is reported, it’s sometimes worth waiting a day or two for a follow-up patch rather than updating the moment a new version appears.