If you own an iPhone 8 and up, you’ll be able to update it today to iOS 16.3. Apple rolled out the new software release last night after a few weeks of beta testing it. iOS 16.3 comes with some new features such as the ability to use a security key to lock down your Apple ID. It also brings the company’s new Advanced Data Protection for iCloud to countries outside of the U.S. Apple has also tweaked the Emergency SOS call system on the iPhone and added a new Unity wallpaper.
iOS 16.3 definitely has a large focus on security. The new security key lockdown feature now allows users to use a hardware key with their iCloud account for some extra security. Apple also made its Advanced Data Protection for iCloud available outside of the U.S. This is a feature that rolled out with iOS 16 in September last year but was only available in select regions.
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The Advanced Data Protection now expands the end-to-end encryption on your cloud storage to new items. This means more content in your iCloud backups will now use advanced encryption.
Apart from that, Apple has tweaked the Emergency SOS feature on iPhone. Instead of pressing the power button five times to initiate the Emergency SOS feature, you’ll now be taken to the shutdown page where you can slide the button to activate it. You can also access the same page by holding down the side button with the volume up or down button to bring this page up. Apple has changed this after receiving an increased number of inadvertent emergency call reports.
In terms of new features, iOS 16.3 adds a new Unity wallpaper to the iPhone which celebrates Black History Month. The new iOS 16.3 update also enables support for the HomePod Gen 2 speaker which was announced last week.
- New Unity wallpaper honours Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month
- Security Keys for Apple ID allow users to strengthen the security of their account by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process on new devices
- Support for HomePod (2nd generation)
- Emergency SOS calls now require holding the side button with the up or down volume button and then releasing in order to prevent inadvertent emergency calls
- Fixes an issue in Freeform where some drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards
- Addresses an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen
- Fixes an issue where horizontal lines may temporarily appear while waking up iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status
- Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests
- Resolves issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly
Source: Apple
