eXtensions - Friday 19 September 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
Apple updated its operating systems this week. Apart from the usual slow Watch and AppleTV processes, I rarely have problems with such updates. This time all devices except the M4 iPad Pro were updated easily. The iPad Pro refuses, although I am still able to use it on a day-to-day basis with iOS 18. I have tried several ways to update the device, but all failed. I am not looking forward to the inevitable erase.
Updates for the Apple operating systems were waiting for me on Tuesday morning, so I made sure all devices were backed up, then started my first update on the iPhone. Read the small print. I do not mean the T&C (I requested an email version), but Apple put the iOS 18.7 update as the main option, and it was only after I had pressed the download that I notice an iOS26 install option at the bottom. Too late. I tried to go back. I wondered for a nanosecond if I should shut the iPhone down and try again (too risky perhaps). So I let it do its job and then started on the iOS26 download, although I did another backup first.
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After two backups of the MacBook Pro (on different disks) the update to macOS26 was problem-free, and I was able to start work right away. I also ran a couple of post-update backups. I note that Howard Oakley (Eclectic Light Company) reports that the macOS update (build 25A354) for the M3 Mac Studio fails to install as some kexts have been removed in Tahoe. Apple are working on a fix.
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Although the other updates were accessible, including the glacial watchOS, iPadOS failed to appear on the iPadPro. It was the same at the office. Just a spinning gear wheel. I worked on this for a couple of days. More details are below. I had no problems updating the iPad mini to iPadOS 26, so was able to examine some of the changes particularly the new Preview app and Files. I also see that the Health app is available so I set that up and synchronized data. That is useful.
Trying to download macOS for the Mac mini at work was not the best experience. it never is. When the download panel showed that 4 days was remaining, I switched to the Personal Hotspot. The 15.12 GB came down relatively quickly: certainly not 4 days, but lunch time intervened. The Mac switched automatically to the office wifi and nothing further happened. I started again with the Personal Hotspot which seemed a little speedier in the early afternoon. The download was finally completed and the installation began. I did notice that, instead of just the white progress bar on the black background, there was also text that let me know how many minutes were left before this was done: useful and welcome.
I saw online that Apple was advising users concerning battery life on the iPhone. As always happens after such an update, there are processes behind the scenes that mean the device is working harder than usual and that uses the battery. Although my iPhone 15 Pro was fully charged when I woke up, within a couple of hours, it was down to around 45%. To be fair, I was also using it a lot while other updates were taking place, but that did seem heavy. Later it even put a hold on charging while the temperatures returned to normal. I cannot ever remember my iPhone 15 Pro heating up before. Ed Hardy (Cult of Mac) also notes that some users may experience a slow down on the iPhone. As with the heat, this is due to background update processes. It was improved a little the next day, but the battery is still discharging more quickly than before; or I am using it more.
I updated watchOS in the afternoon when I went back home. It took far longer than usual for the download (and watchOS is always one of the slowest). Eventually it did the job. The first obvious changes were the glassy welcome lettering in several languages. I also noted that the numbers on the panel for entering the pass-key were larger with each contained in a rounded box rather than the almost square displays before. Generally, this seems fairly easy to read and I have not noticed any changes that affect how I work.
I was aware that the Hypertension feature had been authorized by the FDA in USA, but this is not currently available here. This is almost certainly due to the local equivalent of the FDA not authorizing the use of the feature as yet and not an Apple problem.
James Cuevas (MacOSX Daily) notes also, the "Sleep Score metrics, a wrist-flick dismissal gesture, improvements to workouts, new Messages features, Notes app for Apple Watch, and more."
I had already found the Sleep Score feature on the iPhone. Like the other sleep app I use, this takes data from the Watch while I am asleep, although the Apple score is higher than that from Sleep Cycle (both good). The new camera app on the iPhone is less cluttered than before: just Video and Photo options displayed. If the other options, like Pano, Portrait, et al are needed, just a hard press on either of the buttons will reveal them. The lens options are already displayed onscreen. I took a couple of test photos to see the other options, but these are all easily accessible and of a reasonable size.
I also looked at the Photos app syncing as I had missed that earlier. That former yellow surround used in iOS 18 was gone and now there is a text comment. I pressed that and the same screen as before appeared so I could confirm the need to sync, but this was denied initially as the iPhone needed to cool down. It had been working hard since I woke up. Photos has had some interface changes, mainly connected to file organization. Like the Mac, which has a different interface, I can see no difference in the editing tools. Apple has provided a list of some 200 changes to iOS Joe Rossignol (MacRumors).
After my usual post-breakfast check of email news I opened Settings > General > Software Update and the gearwheel that indicates activity appeared on the screen immediately. It has been like that ever since. Although the other devices displayed information about available updates, this remained spinning. I have tried several ways to effect the download, but all have failed. As the week draws to a close, I am faced with the prospect of erasing the device and starting again. I was able easily to update the iPad mini, so it would appear not to be a problem with the download servers or the wifi, but something on the iPad Pro itself that failed when I tried the update process. I was not even offered iPadOS 18.7 unlike on the iPhone and the iPad mini, both working faultlessly, like the MacBook Pro. I also recognize that the iPad Pro has never failed with previous updates, so something was awry with the update request.
I tried a restart (the download, the iPad and the WiFi), but there was no change. I did check, and a page from Apple confirmed that iPadOS really did exist and was ready to roll like all the others. I also saw a note on Facebook from a local user who had updated to "IOS (TabletOS)" [sic] I presumed iPadOS26 was available here. While at work, I made additional plans, including another reset of the network (although a power cut had done that the day before), and the use of an Ethernet adapter instead of wifi. I had seen in the morning that the speeds were down (not disastrously so), and wondered if a wifi reset would help. It did not. The iPad Pro continued with the gear wheel spinning to no effect. I began thinking about some alternatives.
I left the iPad Pro on, and on charge, all night, but the next morning there had been no change. The same gear wheel I saw the moment I opened the Updates panel on Tuesday morning was still displayed and the wheel was still spinning. I am able to carry on work as normal - nothing has been affected by not updating apart from my heart rate. I am trying to be patient.
I knew I could try to update using iTunes on the Mac, but I was wary of this because this could change some of the settings, however, I did find an Apple Support page which outlined a process of updating the iPad (or iPhone or Pod touch) using a Finder panel. Although it referenced macOS Catalina or later, the screen shot was up to date, showing iOS 26.0. Once the iPad Pro was attached to the MacBookPro and handshaking was complete, the process was quite simple. I pressed the Update button and the download began after I had agreed to T&C. A grey bar at the bottom of the panel showed progress.
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I felt quite buoyed by this and we were almost successful. As the download ended, a panel appeared: "Could not back up the iPad "iPad: GKR (2)" because not enough free space is available on this Mac." Disbelieving, I tried again with the same result. I did take some time to clear out several files and apps, but when I tried the process for a third time, nothing happened. There was a moment when the Finder icon in the Dock jumped and a message indicated that the update was being readied and once verified would install on the iPad. Erase loomed larger.
There was perhaps one more possibility and that lay in the office Mac mini. The connection between the two devices was easy enough and the Finder panel was displayed the same as on the MacBookPro. The first attempt failed, reporting a corrupted file, asking me to re-connect to the Mac. A second attempt appeared to start but nothing more happened. When I connected a third time, the iPad was recognised, but nothing obvious happened when I requested the Update.
I tried one more time the next evening with the MacBookPro at home, but the same warning (not enough space) ended the attempt. I also asked a colleague at work with an M1 Mac mini. I was hopeful as this had 278GB of space on the disk. I was foiled because macOS had not been updated for a while. I tried the Reset options, but this also had no effect: the wheel spins on.
As a last resort, I will try Erase.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader. No AI was used in writing this item.
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