keeping apps and data through LineageOS upgrade

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and I am in process of upgrading LineageOS from 16 to 18. The instructions indicate to wipe the data partition in step 8. Will this remove my installed apps and data? I know how to do a backup and restore using adb but I wondered if there is a way to upgrade lineageOS and keep the apps and data without backing up and restoring.