Planning To Upgrade Your iPhone or iPad To iOS7? Here Are Somethings You Need To Know!

A few friends of mine have already upgraded their phones to the new iOS7 from Apple. I've heard that it takes anywhere from 6 hours to 30 minutes to download the new operating system depending on your Wi-Fi connection. (I think the person who said it took 6 hours was trying to download it before it was really available so don't be discouraged!) My friend Joel Gillie took a couple of screen shots on his phone after he upgraded and sent them to me so you can get an idea of some of the changes. I've also included the Apple video introducing the new operating system. Here's what it looks like.

Now that you have seen all that the new Apple operating system has to offer you want to upgrade! Hold on, there are a few things you should check first!

1- Is your device capable of handling the new operating system?

Only iPhone 4 and higher (4, 4s, 5 models), the iPad 2 and higher, and iPad Minis can handle the new iOS7. Sorry 3 users, it's time to upgrade!

2- Time for a little clean up-

Go through all the apps on your phone and delete ones that you haven't used in a while (I would say if you haven't used it in a month or more do you really need it?!). I know it sounds like a pain, but you can always re-download it from the app store later!

3- Update your Apps that are left-

After cleaning out your old and unused apps from your home screen go to the App store and make sure all of your apps are up to date. I've had a lot of apps update over the last 2 days so just make sure you have the latest and greatest updates!

4- Back up your device and get the latest version of iTunes-

Lastly, hook your device up to iTunes and make sure all your music, contacts, etc. are backed up! (You should be doing this on a regular basis anyway, but in case you haven't been you need to for this.) Also, since there is a new operating system there is also a new version of iTunes that you will need to download as well.

Ok, so all that's done and now you are ready to upgrade. Here are the steps:

Select the "Settings" icon:

Select "General":

Select "Software Update":

If you don't have enough space to upgrade, you will need to clear out 3.1 GB of storage. This is the message that will pop up:

Apparently a lot of people have had this problem including some of my co-workers. If you are able to upgrade, the screen will look like this:

Click "Download and Install," then you will have to agree to all the terms and conditions and then the download will start. The cogs will start turning and there will be a status bar that tells you how long it will take. From start to finish, mine took an hour and 20 minutes but another guy in the office who didn't use the Wi-Fi here said it took him 20 minutes. Just make sure your phone is fully charged before you start the update!