iOS 10.3: 5 Expected Features Of Apple's New Software Update

Apple released Tuesday the iOS 10.3 Beta 1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The Beta 1 is a Developer Beta and not a Public Beta, which means that its availability would be restricted to iOS developers for now.

Still, the iOS 10.3 Beta 1 holds clues to features that will be included in the final version of iOS 10.3 when it releases as official software update to all eligible iPhone, iPad and iPod models.

Here are five features you can expect in iOS 10.3:

Software Features For AirPods

While Apple introduced the AirPods back in September, the wireless earphones were just recently made available to customers. The company spurned attempts by third-party developers to develop apps for the AirPods. Instead, it seems that it wants customers to depend on official updates for AirPods.

One such feature, the need for which was evident since the launch of the device, was the need to securely track the AirPods. Since the AirPods are not connected to the phone with any wire, are tiny in size and hang peculiarly from the users’ ears, the likelihood of them getting lost is pretty high.

For this reason, Apple has introduced a new feature called Find My AirPods in its Find My iPhone, which lets users track their devices on a map using iCloud. The app will play a sound from the AirPods to help you locate them, which will get louder as you move closer to the device.

But since AirPods are connected to your iOS device only via Bluetooth, this feature will work only if they are within a range of 5 to 10 meters of your device.

Improved Siri Functionality

Siri has received some enhancements in Beta 1, making it more useful as a voice assistant. These changes are expected to trickle down to the official iOS 10.3 update.

One surprising change is India-specific — it will now display cricket scores from tournaments such as the Indian Premier League. There is, however, no mention of the same feature for other sports such as football or basketball.

You will now be able to book Uber and Lyft rides by just issuing voice commands to Siri. In addition to this, Siri will allow you to check and pay bills using payment apps.

An improved Siri is expected in upcoming iOS updates, simply because it has to keep pace with other voice assistants such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Improved 3D Touch

Apple is expected to add more 3D Touch-specific features to iPhones. Users can now utilize 3D Touch on weather icon in the Maps app to get hourly forecasts, chances of rain and daily high and low temperatures.

Improved CarPlay Functionality

Apple’s auto functionality, CarPlay, will be able to launch the music app and pick a song or album or artist. The Maps app will now show EV charging stations.

Apple File System

In the iOS 10.3 update, the iPhone’s file system will be upgraded to Apple File System (APFS), which allows multiple file systems to share the same space on the device memory instead of fixed amount of space for each file system.

APFS can grow and shrink without the need for repartitioning your device memory. In simple terms, your device will be managing the onboard memory better with APFS.

APFS will also allow native encryption and let you assign multi-key encryption that will make user data more secure.

In case you lose your device, it will not be easy to break in to your data.