If you are the type of iPhone user who commonly runs out of space on your device, you’ll likely praise Apple for the latest update to its mobile operating system.
Users who have updated to iOS 10.3, released Monday, were impressed to see the update actually freed up storage space on their smartphones. After downloading and installing iOS 10.3, some reported freeing up anywhere from two to five gigabytes of storage on their iPhone.
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This so-called “storage miracle” is thanks to a new file system on iOS 10.3 called Apple File System (APFS). Without getting too technical, the new file system changes the way data is stored on your devices, which means your phone should operate faster and you should have some more storage space. It also offers better encryption and security features.
The extra space was welcome news to users who had experienced frustration with older versions of Apple’s iOS operating system being too big to download. In fact, Apple was sued in 2015 for making the iOS 8 upgrade too big, initially requiring users to have at least 5.7GB of free space in order for it to be installed.
However, according to user reports, the iOS 10.3 update takes longer to install than most updates.
To download iOS 10.3, unlock your device and tap on “Settings,” then “General.” Next, tap on “Software Update” and the iOS 10.3 update should automatically appear. Then tap “Download and Install.”
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Apple recommends that you back up your device before installing new software to ensure you don’t lose any data. If you have photos or data that you don’t want to risk losing, you should back up your phone to iCloud or plug it into a computer with iTunes before installing the update.