Apple this morning seeded the third beta of iOS 10.3 to developers, two weeks after seeding the second beta of iOS 10.3 and more than a two months after the release of iOS 10.2, the last major update to the iOS 10 operating system.
iOS 10.3 is a major update, introducing several new features and changes to the iOS 10 operating system. The biggest new consumer-facing feature is “Find My AirPods,” which is designed to help AirPods owners locate a lost earphone.
Here’s what’s new in the first beta, and we’ll update the list if anything new is discovered in the third beta:
- The Find My iPhone app now includes Find My AirPods
- Reduced Motion is now supported in Safari for web apps
- SiriKit now includes the ability to support paying bills, schedule future ride-hailing rides, and check the status of payments.
- CarPlay now has a dedicated shortcut to launch recently used apps
- CarPlay will now show EV charging locations
- Navigation improvements have arrived for conversations in the Mail app
- HomeKit now supports expanded switch accessories
- New 3D Touch Weather actions
- Spotlight Search now has a border
- The Podcasts app now officially has a widget similar to the Music app
- There’s a new user security section in Settings
- Recent Apps Button in CarPlay
What’s New In iOS 10.3 Beta 3
App Compatibility – In the Settings app, there’s a new “App Compatibility” section that lists apps that may not work with a future version of iOS. Tapping on one of the apps opens it up in the App Store so you can see when it was last updated. As has been discovered in previous betas, opening one of these apps on your iOS device pops up a warning with a similar non-compatible statement. App Compatibility can be accessed by opening the Settings app and choosing General –> About. From there, scroll down to “Applications” and tap it.