Apple announced a bunch of new features for iPhone users with iOS 18, and some iPad-centric features with iPadOS 18. Like every year, the big and brand new features grabbed the limelight, for the right reasons. Interestingly, Apple also made some decent improvements to several native apps. The Files app is receiving a subtle change that ensures your important files are always available offline. Yes, you can finally keep your files and folders permanently downloaded on your device. Let me show you how to download files permanently on an iPhone or iPad.

Until iOS 17, you can download a file from iCloud and save it locally on your iPhone. The problem, however, is that the Files app decides which apps should remain in the cache and downloads certain files that you haven't interacted with in a while, without even telling you. So when you want to access a file, you have to download it again. This is especially frustrating when there is no internet connection. You may find that the file you need has been sent back to the cloud and is no longer available. It's a pain for users who rely on iCloud to save their important files.

Thankfully, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 have solved this problem. There's a new Keep Downloaded feature that lets you save all your important files permanently on your iPhone and iPad. This means you can quickly access your files locally at any time, even without a data connection. You can have the peace of mind that you don't need to download your files again, as they are never returned to the cloud.

The Keep Downloaded in iCloud Drive option in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 lets you save files permanently on your iPhone and iPad. It's super easy and done with a few taps. Here's what you need to do: