iOS 14.5 arrives next week. 2 reasons you should wait to update your iPhone or iPad

This story is part of Apple Event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.

After a lengthy beta, Apple is finally ready to launch iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5. The updates will go live next week, and while we don’t have an exact date yet, we do know that it will include several additional features such as new Siri voices, and a fancy new Face ID feature that makes it possible to use your iPhone while wearing a face mask. 

While it’s tempting to update your iPhone or iPad ($270 at Amazon) to the latest and greatest software Apple has to offer, being an early adopter of anything, even official OS updates, can cause more issues and headaches than it’s worth. Instead of jumping on the iOS 14.5 bandwagon right away, you might find it better to wait a few days before updating. 

Below are the two main reasons you should wait before mashing the update button on your iPhone or iPad. If you’re feeling brave and don’t want to wait, just make sure you have a current backup of your Apple device before updating to iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 when it launches. 

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Every once in a while, there’s a disastrous bug

It hasn’t happened often, but there have been a few iOS updates that have all but crippled the iPhones and iPads for those who installed them the second the update was available. For example, an update in 2016 bricked Apple’s iPad Pro for some owners. Another update that same year stopped some repaired iPhones from working at all. Once you update to iOS 14.5, the process of rolling back isn’t easy.

My advice? Wait a few days, maybe even a week, after the update is available before installing it. That way there will have been time for any first or second-day issues to crop up, prompting Apple to either remove the update and replace it with a fixed version or issue a second update with bug fixes. 

Not every developer will be ready on launch day

The issue you’re most likely to run into with any new software update is apps that aren’t optimized for the update. Apple makes changes to the iPhone or iPad’s underlying code that developers have to adapt to, and if the developer takes some extra time to make sure all its changes work, most of the time there aren’t any problems. 

But that’s just a general rule. There are times when OS updates break an app entirely and unless the developer has its iOS 14.5 optimized app ready to go, you could be stuck waiting. 

By giving developers (and for that matter, the App Store review process) a few days to push out their respective updates, you’re reducing the chances that you’ll run into any problems. 

After you decide to install iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5, we’ll walk you through the process. Once you’ve installed iOS 14.5, check out how to use the new Face ID unlock feature with your Apple Watch ($199 at Best Buy). Then check out how to change Siri’s voice.