Here’s what’s coming to iOS 17.3 (so far)
Apple spoiled iPhone users with its latest update, iOS 17.2. Spatial video capture, notification sound customization, and an entirely brand-new Journal app are just some of the many features 17.2 brings to the iPhone.
But, with the official launch of iOS 17.2, that means there’s a new beta available with iOS 17.3. And a new iOS update brings new features of its own.
Now, as we previously mentioned, Apple gave us a lot with iOS 17.2. As MacRumors points out, iOS 17.3 is not as “feature rich” as its predecessor. Not even close. Mashable counted 18 standout, brand-new features in iOS 17.2. So, it would be hard for iOS 17.3 to even compete on sheer quantity.
But, the iOS 17.3 beta shows that it will bring some brand-new capabilities to the iPhone. Here’s what’s coming so far.
Stolen Device Protection
This is going to be the big one in iOS 17.3: Stolen Device Protection.
Mashable previously wrote about it earlier this week following the Wall Street Journal‘s report on the anti-theft measure coming to iPhone with iOS 17.3.
One weak point in protecting a user’s data on their iPhone when it gets stolen is the ability for a thief to gain access without the need for Face ID or Touch ID. If the device doesn’t recognize the user, it falls back to the numerical passcode option. And, unlike your face or fingerprint, a thief could figure out your password and input it for access to your data.
Stolen Device Protection won’t block that scenario off completely, but it will stop criminals from accessing the most sensitive data on your iPhone. When the option is turned on, certain features will require Face ID or Touch ID without providing the passcode option as a workaround. For example, if a user’s iPhone is stolen, whoever owns the device will be unable to apply for an Apple Card, use certain Wallet features involving Apple Cash, access a virtual credit card, view passwords saved in iCloud Keychain, or use saved payment methods in Safari, or set up a new device using that iPhone.
Stolen Device Protection, when turned on, will activate only when the device isn’t physically in a trusted location like the iPhone owner’s home or workplace. Furthermore, some features will also require an hour-long wait before settings changes will be allowed on the device. And, after that wait, it will check the user via Face ID and Touch ID once again.
Some of those features include allowing a user to change their Apple ID password, add or remove trusted devices or phone numbers, change the device’s passcode or add and remove Face ID or Touch ID, and deactivating iCloud’s Find My feature.
Collaborative Apple Music Playlists
Apple Music fans will like this new iOS 17.3 feature.
Collaborative Playlists will allow users to invite friends, family, or anyone they’d like to collaborate on an Apple Music playlist. Users can be invited to new or existing playlists and add songs to the playlist for everyone with access to listen to. Users simply invite others to collaborate on a playlist by generating a link via each individual playlist, which can then be shared with others.
The playlist creator still maintains ownership of the playlist and can remove users or songs and turn off the collaboration feature if they’d like.
As MacRumors explains, collaborating playlists originally made its debut in the iOS 17.2 beta but was eventually removed from the final release. Its inclusion this time around may signal that its ready to be released with the official iOS 17.3 release.
Apple Music emoji reactions
Another new Apple Music update is coming with iOS 17.3 and this directly ties into the new collaborative playlist feature as well.
Now that playlists are collaborative, iPhone users will now be able to share emoji reactions to songs with other users on the shared playlist.
When a song is playing, a user can tap on the emoji icon and choose whichever emoji they’d like. Then, whenever any user on the collaborative playlist listens to that song, the emojis from those users will become visible and animate along with it.
