Get acceptable for an update to iOS 16. iOS 16.3 is coming to your iPhone this week, bringing a fewer caller features, immoderate bug fixes and immoderate tie-ins for Black History Month.

Word of iOS 16.3's imminent merchandise comes from Apple itself, which fto the motorboat day gaffe successful a press merchandise highlighting the company's efforts connected behalf of Black History Month (opens successful caller tab) successful February. Besides spotlights connected curated contented successful the Music, TV, News and Podcasts apps, Apple is adding a Unity ticker look and iPhone wallpaper that incorporates colors of the Pan-African flag.

Both the Unity 2023 ticker look and Unity iPhone wallpaper volition necessitate iOS 16.3. And successful the good people of Apple's Black History Month announcement from yesterday (January 18), the institution says the ticker look and partition insubstantial "will beryllium disposable adjacent week." That would seemingly connote the iOS update is coming too.

Another motion that iOS 16.3 is connected its way: a beta of the merchandise campaigner became disposable to developers this week. Usually, that means a afloat merchandise isn't that acold off.

If you've been pursuing the iOS 16.3 beta process, you cognize that there's not a full batch of large features planned for this release. But Apple does person immoderate additions acceptable to spell unrecorded erstwhile iOS 16.3 lands connected your iPhone. Here's what you tin expect.

iOS 16.3: Security cardinal authentication for Apple ID

Users looking for an other furniture of information betwixt ne'er-do-wells and their Apple ID information volition beryllium capable to adhd information cardinal authentication tanks to iOS 16.3.

Apple announced this (opens successful caller tab) astatine the aforesaid clip it revealed the summation of Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, which arrived for U.S. iPhone owners successful iOS 16.2. At the time, Apple said it was targeting an aboriginal 2023 motorboat for information cardinal authentication, which tracks with the iOS 16.3 release.

Physical information keys are meant to augment Apple's existing two-factor authentication for Apple ID, peculiarly for iPhone owners whose nationalist illustration makes them apt targets for hackers. Think celebrities, politicians and — looks astir nervously — journalists.

When this diagnostic is enabled, you'll request a carnal information cardinal arsenic 1 of the 2 factors for signing into your Apple ID account. 

Improved HomePod Handoff

There's an enhancement to the Handoff diagnostic that transfers power of euphony playback from an iPhone to a HomePod speaker, an particularly timely summation fixed this week's accomplishment of the Apple HomePod 2. While Handoff has existed for immoderate time, iOS 16.3 introduces a caller usher that much intelligibly shows HomePod owners however to usage the Handoff capability.

The usher tells you to bring your iPhone wrong scope of the HomePod to presumption your playback controls oregon walk audio playing connected your telephone to the astute speaker. It besides tells you to bash this again if you privation to spot the controls oregon transportation the audio backmost again later.

New Emergency SOS via outer telephone modes

iPhone 14 users already person entree to Emergency SOS via satellite if they request assistance portion successful a distant location, but iOS 16.3 is adding 2 caller ways to entree it.

Call with Hold and Release replaces the existing Call with Hold function, letting you entree Emergency SOS and an alarm aft holding down the powerfulness fastener and a measurement button. The erstwhile Call with Hold relation required you to usage a telephone slider to marque an exigency call, thing that wouldn't needfully beryllium doable depending connected your situation.

The different caller enactment is Call Quietly. This lets you marque an exigency telephone without mounting disconnected an alarm, successful lawsuit that wouldn't beryllium utile oregon could endanger you further.

iOS 16.3 Global Advanced Data Protection

As we mentioned above, the iOS 16.2 update gave U.S. iPhone owners entree to Advanced Data Protection. That's a caller information diagnostic brings end-to-end encryption to Apple's iCloud retention service, protecting info you're stored successful the unreality (with the objection of Mail, Contacts and Calendar data). 

Apple had promised to bring Global Advanced Data Protection to different parts of the satellite with a aboriginal iOS update, and based connected comments from radical who've been utilizing the iOS 16.3 beta (opens successful caller tab), that clip has come. As before, to alteration Advanced Data Protection, motorboat Settings, pat connected your name, followed by iCloud. From there, you tin crook connected the information feature. 

iOS 16.3 bug fixes

iOS 16.3 merchandise notes item respective fixes coming via this bundle update. The biggest 1 involves a bug wherever horizontal lines would look connected immoderate iPhone 14 Pro Max models arsenic the phones were waking up. Additionally, iOS 16.3 fixes assorted issues involving Siri, Car Play and the iPhone fastener screen.

iOS 16.2 included a caller architecture for Apple's Home app, but conscionable arsenic rapidly arsenic that diagnostic arrived, Apple pulled it from the iPhone software. Users complained of immoderate HomeKit‌ devices becoming stuck successful an "updating" oregon "configuring" status, portion different devices were missing wholly from the Home app, among different bugs. The caller architecture returns successful iOS 16.3, presumably present that Apple's ironed retired those issue.

What's inactive missing

Even though iOS 16 has been astir since the autumn of 2022, not each the features Apple has promised are unrecorded yet. We're inactive waiting connected the motorboat of a dedicated Apple Music Classical app, though determination are reports that the iOS 16.3 merchandise campaigner contains code (opens successful caller tab) hinting astatine specified a service.

Apple Pay Later, which lets you interruption up payments done Apple Pay into 4 installments, has yet to motorboat arsenic well. Perhaps that volition beryllium a portion of iOS 16.4, which volition apt look successful beta signifier not agelong aft iOS 16.3's release.