Apple's products may not always offer the best bang for your buck — the company still sells an iPhone with a 60Hz display for $700, for example — but they often make up for it with meticulously designed hardware and well-thought-out ecosystem features. iPhones also tend to last a long time, with Apple's commitment to long-term software support a major factor. Take the iPhone 11, for instance. Released in 2019, it can still run the latest version of iOS more than seven years later. If you're rocking a similarly aged iPhone and want to check the OS version you're running, open Settings and navigate to General > About > iOS Version.
Your iPhone should notify you when a new iOS version becomes available, and installation takes only a few minutes once the update finishes downloading. To check for updates manually, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update. This page also shows the current software version and will display a Download and Install button if an update is available. If a major iOS release, like iOS 27, is available, you'll see it in a separate Also Available section at the bottom.
Once you've downloaded the update, tap Update Now, enter your passcode and accept the terms and conditions. Your iPhone will reboot automatically to finish installing the update.
