How to Update the Apps on Your iPhone and iPad: (part of the) Very Beginner Series

*Occasional posts will contain how-tos and/or hints for VERY new users of iPads, iPhones or Kindles. All new users welcome! Non-tech speak, not terribly detailed, just basic device-enhancing goodness. All part of this Very Beginner Series. Please share with any beginners (Mom? Dad? Grandma?) in your life.*

Part of the fun of having an iPhone or an iPad is gathering apps. All kinds of apps. Game apps, map apps, video apps, recipe apps, productivity apps, music apps.

And if you have good apps, (and you probably do), the developers keep working on them. They keep improving them. The developers tweak their work, making their apps better all the time. They update them so that they work best with the current operating system, to correct bugs that users uncover, and to add new features.

This is all great news for you, the user, because it means that the apps you use just keep getting better. The trick, however, is that you have to remember to update your apps. 🙂

There are two basic ways to update. One is through the computer and iTunes, the other is directly on your device.

For the purpose of this post, we are going to look at updating your apps directly on your device. (Syncing to iTunes will be a topic for another day.)

How to update your apps on your iPhone or iPad:

Find the App Store app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you have any updates, you will see a number on it. This tells you how many apps you have to update.

Tap on the App store icon.

Now look down at the bottom of the screen, and you’ll see that number again, right beside the word “updates”.

Tap on “Updates”

You will be shown a list of all the updates that are available to you.

Next to each one, there is an “update” spot to touch OR you can look to the top of the screen and tap on “update all”

Gradually, one by one, your apps will update.

Try to remember to do this periodically.

If the number gets too high, you can overwhelm your device and it might freeze (it’s not supposed to freeze, but it has happened).

You are less likely to have a problem if you update the apps in smaller batches, every few days or so.