Have an iPhone 11 with 64GB of storage, but have insufficient storage available to update to iOS 18.1.1
Most of the storage is taken up by Messages. I have not been synching messages to icloud. If I decide to upgrade to an iPhone 14 with 128GB storage, will I need to update the iOS before transferring my data? Is there a way of synching messages to iCloud and then deleting them to free up the storage needed to update iOS?
iPhone 11, iOS 18
No, if you get a new iPhone, you won't have to update your current iPhone in order to move your data over to the new phone. Give you're out of space with 64GB, do yourself a favor and go for at least 256GB in your next phone. The new cameras alone will take up more memory with higher resolution photos and with the new Apple Intelligence Features, they too will eat more space.
On your question about syncing messages to iCloud, NO, iCloud is not really a true archive system. iCloud is a syncing system. If you sync messages from your phone to iCloud, then delete your messages on your iPhone, they will delete from iCloud too. Hence why I recommend getting the most storage you can afford.
No, if you get a new iPhone, you won't have to update your current iPhone in order to move your data over to the new phone. Give you're out of space with 64GB, do yourself a favor and go for at least 256GB in your next phone. The new cameras alone will take up more memory with higher resolution photos and with the new Apple Intelligence Features, they too will eat more space.
On your question about syncing messages to iCloud, NO, iCloud is not really a true archive system. iCloud is a syncing system. If you sync messages from your phone to iCloud, then delete your messages on your iPhone, they will delete from iCloud too. Hence why I recommend getting the most storage you can afford.
I'm sure you can do it! Remember, once purchased, iPhone memory is fixed for the life of the phone and there is no way to add more storage to it. The cost difference if one keeps their phone a long time is honestly, not much in the scheme of things.
Thanks so much. It's actually my wife's phone, so I will do my best to convince her to go for even more storage.
Unable to update ios due to low storage
