When you move from an old iPhone or iPad to a new one, the easiest and most reliable approach is often the Quick Start device-to-device transfer. But if that doesn’t work, or if you have to give up one device before receiving the other, iCloud Backup is a fine alternative. Fine, that is, if you have enough iCloud storage space, which many people with the free 5 GB plan do not. For devices running iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, Apple introduced the option to create a temporary iCloud backup that’s larger than the available space. Tap Settings > General > Transfer or Reset Device > Get Started to create the backup. You have 21 days (plus another 21 if you ask for it) to restore that backup, and it sticks around for another 7 days after you restore.
Of course, since this is an iOS/iPadOS 15 feature, your old device must be upgraded to iOS 15 first. Do that in Settings > General > Software Update.
(Featured image by iStock.com/honley)