How to update your iPhone under macOS Catalina

Have you just updated to macOS Catalina and are now wondering how to update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 13? You are probably are looking in the wrong place.

Apple just announced the new macOS called Catalina and with it a bunch of new features and changes. With that we also learned that the era of iTunes is over. It is being replaced with three independent and dedicated apps.

It’s time to specialise

I think we all can agree that iTunes was a cluttered collection of all kinds of services and features that most of us either don’t need or don’t want to use. Therefore it’s an absolute delight that Apple decided to ditch iTunes. When you are upgrading to macOS Catalina, iTunes is being replaced with three following apps Music, Podcasts and Apple TV. These Apps inherit most of iTunes features, but the moment you connect your iPhone to your mac you’ll notice that something is missing.

Finder is now managing your iOS Devices

In macOS Catalina Finder is becoming your central hub for iOS Device management. All the things like syncing backups and such are now located within Finder. To access the settings connect your iPhone or iPad with a lightning cable and select it under “Locations“. Here you now can access all the options and features you are used to from iTunes.

Updating iOS or iPadOS under macOS Catalina

It is still possible to update your iOS or iPadOS Device manually like you were used to in iTunes. The place to do it just shifted to Finder. So if you want to update to iOS 13 or iPadOS 13, start by downloading your designated .ipsw file from Apple and head to Finder. Here continue by selecting your device and under the “General” Tab, press and hold the “Option ( ⌥ )“ key on your keyboard while you are clicking on “Check for Update“. Now select your update File and Finder will update your Device to iOS 13.