Apple has now officially outed a stable version of iOS 10.3 to the public, seen by many as a major update for iDevices. Seven beta versions of iOS 10.3 were released before an official public rollout, so Apple must have heavily ironed out many kinks to ensure that everything's working properly.
But the most important thing here is what's new. What are the new features and changes on iOS 10.3? Here's everything you need to know:
Apple File System (APFS)
Apple has upgraded its iDevices to a new file system with the arrival of iOS 10.3. Originally announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference last year, APFS is designed to take advantage of flash or SSD storage, unlike Apple's previous Hierarchal File System, or HFS, or its successor, HFS+, which are designed for devices with floppy or hard disks. Moreover, as The Verge reports, encryption is engineered into APFS as a primary feature, and it even supports features such as snapshots, making file restoration on both a Mac or an iDevice miles easier down the line.
Find My AirPods
Of utmost complaint about Apple's wireless earphones, AirPods, is that the pair is easy to lose since they're so small. Granted, they both perfectly slide in an included compartment, but even the size of that compartment is small, akin to a dental floss container. With iOS 10.3, that will halt being a problem altogether.
Finding your AirPods will now be a feature within the Find My iPhone app. You can even make the earphones output noise to help you find them more easily. The Find My iPhone app will, of course, show where the AirPods is located as long as they're paired with your iOS device.
New Features For App Developers
On developers' side of things, iOS 10.3 will now allow app developers respond to customer reviews, which is a much-needed feature. Responses to comments made by developers can be publicly displayed within the App Store on mobile and within iTunes on desktop. Users will also be able to determine if a particular app review is "Helpful" or "Not helpful."
Developers will also be able to update their app icons without needing to submit a brand-new update to Apple altogether. This will come in handy if developers want to update their apps in terms of seasonal changes, such as adding elements of Halloween come late October.
iOS 10.3 32-Bit App Alerts
iOS 10.3 also confirms that 32-bit apps are indeed poised to be defunct when future versions of iOS come along. In iOS 10.3, when a user opens a 32-bit app, a dialog box will open up, informing the user that the app will not function on succeeding versions of iOS and that the developers needs to provide an update to ensure its compatibility down the line.
CarPlay Updates
The CarPlay status bar will now have easy access to media, communication, and travel apps so that users may switch to them quickly without needing to go back to the homescreen. CarPlay also now has quick access to albums from songs in the Music app, and it also now has an Up Next screen.
Siri Updates
Siri will also now support checking status of bills with the Payments app, and it will also let users schedule trips with ride-hailing services. With iOS 10.3, there will also be support for checking the car fuel level, turning on lights, and activating the horn with automaker apps.
To check out the more minor changes on iOS 10.3, check out the detailed release notes reported by Forbes.
Have you downloaded iOS 10.3 on your iDevice yet? How's the experience so far? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
