How to prepare your iPhone or iPad for iOS 11

iOS 11 launches to the public tomorrow! Make sure your iPhone and iPad are ready to download the new iOS!

Apple's newest operating system, iOS 11, goes live to the public tomorrow and is bringing a whole bunch of exciting updates to both iPhone and iPad.

Whether you have been downloading the beta software through Apple's beta program or you're just waiting to get your hands on it for the first time tomorrow, here are some important steps to follow to make sure your iPhone and iPad are ready for the update!

Read our full review of iOS 11

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone or iPad is compatible with iOS 11

While iOS 11 will be available to a lot of the iPhones and iPads out there, not every previous Apple device will be capable of receiving the upgrade. Each new operating system usually has higher power and system requirements which means some older hardware is just not powerful enough to run iOS 11.

Here's a list of all the devices that are capable of running iOS 11.

• iPad 5th Generation
• iPad Air
• iPad Air 2
• iPad Pro (12.9-inch, 9.7-inch, and 10.5-inch)
• iPad mini 2
• iPad mini 3
• iPad mini 4
• iPod touch 6th Generation
• iPhone 5s
• iPhone SE
• iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
• iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

Unfortunately, if your device isn't listed above, you won't be able to download iOS 11.

Step 2: Check your apps for updates

If you haven't already heard, apps that haven't been updated by developers to 64-bit will not work in iOS 11. What does this mean for you? Well, it could mean nothing. You may not use any apps that are still 32-bit, meaning the developers have kept their apps updated to Apple's newest specs. If you're concerned that an app you love or use often may be affected and you want to make sure you know what you're getting into before you download iOS 11, you can quickly check if the apps on your phone are 32-bit or not.

Read: How to check which applications are still 32-bit on iPhone and iPad

What can I do if an app I love is 32-bit currently?

Unfortunately, not a whole lot. It's really up to the developers to maintain and update their apps, so there is nothing you can do directly to fix the issue.

That being said, look at the App Store description of the app and see when the last update was made available. If you notice an update hasn't been pushed in a fairly long time (a year or more, let's say), it may be an indication that the developers have decided to stop supporting that particular app. Of course, nothing is for certain, but I would encourage you to pay attention to any news coming from the developers to see if they plan on updating their apps.

Step 3: Clean up your iPhone or iPad

While we don't know the exact size iOS 11 will be, we do know that each new iOS Apple has put out has typically required a little more storage space than the previous operating system. If you don't have enough space on your iPhone or iPad to download iOS 11, you'll most likely get a storage space error and you'll have to delete some data off your device to make some room.

Photos, videos, and apps can all take up huge amounts of storage space. If you're looking to make some room, look for old photos you don't want to keep, videos you don't need anymore, or apps you won't miss. You can always delete these items to make room, or transfer them to your Mac, hard drive, iCloud, or other cloud storage service for safe keeping.

Read: Out of storage error on your iPhone? Here's the fix!

Step 4: Back up your data!

If the unfortunate events of early iOS 10 updating taught us anything, it's that you should always back up your data before downloading any major updates. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

If you don't set up some sort of a backup system - be it iCloud or another service — you only have yourself to blame if you lose all of your data.

Read: How to back up your iPhone or iPad

Are you excited for the launch of iOS 11?

Let us know what feature you're looking forward to getting your hands on in iOS 11 by leaving a comment down below!