If you’re outside the United States and can’t wait to turn on Advanced Data Protection, your wait is almost over. The expanded encryption feature will roll out to the rest of the world with iOS 16.3, which will most likely arrive next week after Apple pushed the release candidate to beta testers today.
iOS 16.3 isn’t a huge release, but it does bring some notable features. In conjunction with watchOS 9.3, it will add the new Unity watch face to celebrate Black History Month, when Apple highlights curated content across many of its services. There are a few other great new features, such as support for the new 2nd Gen HomePod, which is coming February 3, and some new HomePod features for all users, such as remastered ambient sounds, new Siri confirmation sound and new audio settings for spoken word content like podcasts.
It will also bring two expected fixes. One will fix whatever is causing horizontal lines to appear when restarting some iPhone 14 devices, and it should restore the Home app upgrade that was retired in December. According to the release notes, several other smaller features and fixes are also part of the update:
- New Unity Wallpaper Pays Homage to Black History and Culture to Celebrate Black History Month
- Apple ID Security Keys allow users to increase account security by requiring a physical security key as part of the two-factor authentication sign-in process on new devices.
- Emergency SOS calls now require holding down the side button with the volume up or down button and then releasing to avoid inadvertent emergency calls
- Fixes an issue in Freeform where certain drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards
- Fixes an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the lock screen
- Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display the status of the Home app
- Fixes an issue where Siri may not respond correctly to music requests
- Fixes issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly
The release candidate for iOS 16.3 was released for beta testers on January 18. Extended releases usually arrive around 10:00 a.m. PT on Tuesday or Wednesday, so expect the final release to be available on January 24 or 25.
