We have previously written about using the automatic app update feature on your iPhone, and shown you how to enable or disable it as you see fit. If you have chosen to disable that feature, then any app updates on your iPhone will need to be installed manually. Fortunately this process is very similar to installing a new app, so it should seem familiar.
Our guide below will show you how to find and install an available app update on your iPhone. We will also show you how to turn off automatic app updates if you would prefer to handle all of the updating yourself.
How to Install an Available App Update on an iPhone
The steps in this article were written on an iPhone 5, in iOS 9. This section will show you how to find the list of of updates that are available for apps on your iPhone, then install one of the updates from that list. Note that not every app will have an available update. They only become available when the app developer releases a new version of the app.
Step 1: Open the App Store.
Step 2: Tap the Updates tab at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 3: Scroll through the list of available updates until you find one that you wish to install, then tap the Update button to the right of it. Once the update has finished installing, you will be able to tap the Open button to launch the app.
How to Turn off Automatic App Updates on an iPhone
The steps in this section will assume that your iPhone apps are currently updating automatically, and that you would like to stop this behavior. Once you have completed the steps in this section, all app updates will need to be installed manually using the steps in the previous section.
Step 1: Open the Settings menu.
Step 2: Scroll down and select the iTunes and App Store option.
Step 3: Tap the button to the right of Updates to turn it off, and switch to manual app updates.
You may have noticed that there is occasionally a red circle with a number on the App Store icon. This article – https://www.os-tips.com/remove-red-circle-white-number-iphone-app-store/ – will explain why that circle appears, and what you can do to get rid of it.
Gary Thompson has been in IT consulting since the mid 2000s, and enjoys writing about mobile devices and computers. His primary topics of interest include iPhones and Windows, but he has written about many other devices and applications.