Apple today released the final version of iOS 10.3 to everyone. This is the latest update to iOS 10, which Apple made available in September. Since then there have been small updates, including most recently iOS 10.2 two months ago.
Developers and beta testers have been able to try out some of the more significant updates here for the past several weeks. This release comes after no fewer than seven beta releases of iOS 10.3.
For those people with AirPods, Apple’s wireless earphones, this release will be crucial, because it includes Find My AirPods — a way to see their location and also have them make a sound so you can get your hands on them again.
The other headline feature here is APFS, Apple’s next-generation file system. Apple is moving everyone over from its longstanding HFS+ file system to APFS. People have gotten a taste of APFS through beta releases of macOS Sierra, but now it’s going live for millions of iPhones. In my own use, since Apple made APFS a part of iOS 10.3 beta 5, performance is better going into and out of apps. It might also provide you with a bit more leftover storage space. So looking back on this build, APFS will likely be the most memorable addition. (Unless you have AirPods, that is.)
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
Apple has also enhanced Siri in a few ways. The assistant can now provide cricket scores and figures for the International Cricket Council and the Indian Premier League. Also, Siri can tell you paying and checking status of bills through installed payment apps, she can schedule rides through certain apps, and with the help of apps from automobile manufacturers Siri can also turn on the lights, activate the horn, tell you if the car is locked, and tell you how much fuel is remaining, according to today’s release notes.
Apple ID information now sits at the top of the Settings app with this release, and it’s easier to get to security settings from there.
The Maps app now lets you search for “parked car.” (Google Maps has been working on something similar.)
The Calendar app now lets you delete an unwanted invitation and report it as junk.
The Home app lets you “trigger scenes” in association with certain home automation products, and it can provide information about battery power remaining in certain products.
Apple’s standard-issue Podcasts app now offers a Today widget that displays new episodes of certain shows, and the app now lets you share playable versions of podcasts through the Messages app.
CarPlay has some updates: Now you can access daily playlists and new music categories from the Apple Music app, there’s a Now Playing screen for Apple Music that lets you get to the album of the current song or see what’s coming up next, and there are now shortcuts for your most recently used apps in the status bar.
VoiceOver is now more stable in the Mail, Phone, and Safari apps.
And Apple has fixed an issue that might have stopped Apple’s Maps app from showing your location after you’ve reset Location & Privacy.
Plus, there are security updates in this release.
To get iOS 10.3, go to Settings > General Software Update.
Also today, Apple released macOS Sierra 10.12.4, which brings Night Shift to the Mac. Apple also released watchOS 3.2, tvOS 10.2, and Xcode 8.3.
