Apple prepares iOS 18.3: New features await iPhone owners
iOS 18.3 is coming next week (photo: Getty Images)
iOS 18.3 will be released next week after completing the beta testing phase that began in mid-December. Despite the fact that this software update is relatively small, it includes a number of new features, changes and bug fixes for the iPhone, reports MacRumors.
Changes to notifications
The Apple Intelligence feature for summarizing notifications from news apps is temporarily unavailable in iOS 18.3 due to incorrect content in some news stories.
Starting with iOS 18.3, notifications included in the summary will be italicized to make them easier to distinguish from regular notifications. Apple has also promised to improve notification summaries in future iOS updates.
Additionally, iOS 18.3 makes it easy to manage your notification summary settings right from the lock screen.
Improvements to Visual Intelligence
All four iPhone 16 models come with a Camera Control button that activates Visual Intelligence. This new feature provides information about objects or places around the user. For example, you can use it to find out the opening hours or rating of a restaurant you pass by simply by pressing and holding the camera control button.
iOS 18.3 introduces several Visual Intelligence updates for iPhone 16 models. You can now add an event to the Calendar app directly from a poster or flyer. Visual Intelligence has also learned to identify animals and plants.
Visual Intelligence is only available for iPhone 16 models and is not available on other devices.
Improvements to the Calculator app
iOS 18.3 brings back a small but useful feature to the Calculator app that was previously removed. Now, if you tap the equal sign a second time, the app will repeat the last math action. This is especially useful for calculating complex percentages or other repetitive operations.
Black Unity (possible update)
In the tvOS 18.3 Release Candidate for Apple TV, a reference called "UNITY25" was found in the update code. Over the past four years, Apple has launched Black Unity campaigns that included an Apple Watch band, watch face, and matching iPhone wallpaper.
It is currently unknown what Apple plans for Black Unity in 2025. Although the tvOS 18.3 code indicates a possible update, there was no mention of it in the iOS 18.3 Release Candidate notes. The official announcement is likely to be made next week.
Additional features
iOS 18.3 fixes two bugs related to Siri and Apple Music:
- Fixed a bug that could cause the keyboard to disappear when entering a text query for Siri
- Fixed an issue where music would continue to play until the end of a song even if the Apple Music app was closed
Apple has also added support for robotic vacuum cleaners in the Home app code for iOS 18.3, but this feature has not yet been activated. Apple's website states that this feature will appear in a future update, possibly in iOS 18.4.
