The iOS 16.3 beta has been released; here are the latest iPhone features.

 

The iOS 16.3 beta has been released; here are the latest iPhone features.

In the first few months of 2023, Apple should release the next significant update to iOS 16.

The arrival of iOS 16.2 may have been the last significant update for the year, however, that doesn't mean Apple isn't as of now preparing its most memorable large update for 2023. Additionally, the initial beta of iOS 16.3 is now available to iPhone developers who are enrolled in the iOS beta program.

 We do not anticipate iOS 16.3's general availability anytime soon. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg (opens in new tab) stated in October that the iOS 16.3 update would be released sometime between the beginning of February and the beginning of March. That timeline also seems about right to us considering some of the features that have already been added to the beta.

 The initial iOS 16.3 beta only contains a small number of new features at this point, but this is likely to change as users have more time to investigate the software release and its code. The addition of support for physical security keys to safeguard your Apple ID appears to be the highlight for the time being.

A week ago, Apple announced the new feature (opens in new tab) alongside the addition of Advanced Data Protection for iCloud. At least for iPhone owners in the United States, that second feature was included in iOS 16.2.) Physical security keys are intended to supplement Apple's current two-factor authentication for Apple ID, especially for iPhone owners whose public profile makes them likely targets for hackers. Think politicians, celebrities, and — the crowd looks nervously around — journalists.) When enabled, one of the two requirements for logging into your Apple ID account will be a physical security key.

Apple said that security keys for Apple ID would be available worldwide beginning in early 2023 during its announcement of security features. This puts the feature in line with the likely release date of iOS 16.3.

 9to5Mac reports (opens in new tab) that the Handoff feature, which transfers control of music playback from an iPhone to a HomePod speaker, has been improved in addition to security key support. iOS 16.3 supposedly presents another aide that all the more plainly tells HomePod proprietors the best way to utilize the Handoff ability.

 

Throughout the iOS 16.3 beta process, we anticipate the addition of additional features. Apple Music Classical, a dedicated classical music app that was first promised a year ago, and Apple Pay Later, which will let you split payments using Apple's payment service into four installments, are two features that were previously announced for iOS 16 but have yet to appear in any of Apple's updates since the release of the most recent iPhone software version in September.

We are also waiting on a Custom Accessibility Mode, which was mentioned in the iOS 16.2 betas and allows you to make the home screen smaller and increase the size of controls and text. Last but not least, we anticipate that the global rollout of Advanced Data Protection will begin in early 2023, and iOS 16.3 seems like a good way to introduce that feature given that Apple has indicated that it will do so.

iOS 16.3 beta will be made available to developers ahead of time; Before the end of the year, a version might make it into the public iOS beta program hosted by Apple.