Question Transferring iPhone 8 (iOS 14.5) to new 15: Upgrade 8’s iOS & best method of transfer

Apr 14, 2024
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I recently (1 week ago) bought a 15 Plus & my old phone that I’ll be transferring over the contents of to the 15 is an 8 Plus w/ a 14.5 iOS (I just was dumb & never upgraded my iOS, yes i am ashamed of that this) And now the highest iOS an 8 can have is 16. So one of my questions is: do I have to upgrade the 8 to iOS 16 to be able to transfer to the 15? And even if its not absolutely necessary to upgrade the 8’s iOS, will I have an easier time/less issues with transferring the whole phone to the 15 if I DO / am able to upgrade the 8 to iOS 16? Im just nervous to upgrade to 16 now considering how old my phone & its current iOS is. And its only 128GB so I dont know if that makes a difference re: the upgrade to iOS 16.

My other question is: with my specific 2 phones - transferring an 8 to a 15 - & also possible iOS upgrade issues with the 8 (if in fact the 8 does need an iOS update for the transfer) … what would be the best method to do the transfer so that ALL of the 8’s contents successfully moves over to the 15 with the least amount of issues: Restore from recent iCloud backup - direct transfer - restore from back up on PC (itunes).

Also, I know that iCloud Backup includes all the info and settings stored on your phone - except - for the data/apps that are continuously syncing to iCloud. So iCloud backups dont include your whole phone - it doesnt include the data that is continuously syncing - which is photos, iCloud drive, & notes (on my 8, these are switched on to backup to iCloud) Is this correct? If so, how then do you transfer photos - drive - & notes to a new phone?
[ From: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108770
“What iCloud Backup includes:”
Your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro backups include all the information and settings stored on your device that don't already sync to iCloud.” ]

I know sound like nervous Nelly but last time I did this, itunes was still the preferred/main method & using an iCloud backup to restore was pretty new & took forever. Thanks!