Apple Delivers iOS 10.3

Apple Delivers iOS 10.3

Apple delivered iOS 10.3 to compatible devices today, adding a small number of new features only.

But give Apple some credit: For a firm that often over-hypes each release as if it were the second coming, it has likewise offered a steady drumbeat of improvements. The original iOS 10 release shipped back in September—and had some decent new features—and was followed up by iOS 10.1 in October and iOS 10.2 in December.

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Each of those two most recent updates came with a single marquee feature—Portrait mode (for iPhone 7 Plus only) in iOS 10.1 and the new TV app in iOS 10.2—and iOS 10.3 is no different. Except that this time around, that marquee feature, Find My AirPods, is on the lame side.

In addition to that little trinket, iOS 10.3 adds a single Apple ID profile interface in Settings, a Touch 3D-compatible weather icon in Maps, and various CarPlay improvements. There’s new file system called Apple File System (APFS) that is better optimized for the NAND storage used in i-Devices. In other words, not much. Or, as BGR puts it, iOS 10.3 is “packed with new features.”

Apple also shipped even less interesting updates to macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. So if you’re using Apple devices, be sure to fire up Software Update to get the latest software.

 

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Conversation 22 comments

  • johnbaxter

    27 March, 2017 - 2:47 pm

    <p>APFS is a big under-the-hood thing, given that it replaces a disk file system that dates back to 1987</p><p><br></p><p>It will be a bigger deal (and harder to pull off because of more variations in the world) when it comes out for macOS later this year.</p><p><br></p><p>A backup is a good idea (always for system upgrades/updates)…particularly this time since Apple is undertaking to do a live file system replacement during installation.</p>

    • F4IL

      27 March, 2017 - 3:18 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#93279">In reply to johnbaxter:</a></em></blockquote><p>APFS is a very big update to the entire system. It is way more advanced compared to old systems like NTFS or HFS+, bringing many advantages to the platform going forward.</p>

    • Polycrastinator

      27 March, 2017 - 3:51 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#93279">In reply to johnbaxter:</a></em></blockquote><p>I was surprised that it's just a point update on that basis, but I guess Apple uses the "big" update numbers for consumer facing changes rather than what's under the hood.</p>

  • NateInSLC

    27 March, 2017 - 3:08 pm

    <p>Ha! Yup. Find my AirPods is kind of a joke. I have real headphones so I don't care.</p><p><br></p><p>But I do think the new file system is a bigger deal. It's been a long time coming and should be a big benefit in terms of improved file encryption and security as well as improved flash usage. But, a change that big is also the reason I'll be waiting a few days before I update to make sure others find any big launch day bugs.</p>

    • Thomas Parkison

      27 March, 2017 - 5:47 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#93337">In reply to NateInSLC:</a></em></blockquote><p>I noticed an increase of 2 GBs of available space after the update. I figure it was because of the decrease in cluster sizes.</p>

  • DaddyBrownJr

    27 March, 2017 - 3:18 pm

    <p>The perfect OS just keeps getting perfecter, I guess.</p>

  • RobertJasiek

    27 March, 2017 - 4:24 pm

    <p>My hope is that <span style="color: rgb(27, 27, 27); background-color: rgb(251, 251, 251);">Apple File System enables general file managers for iOS handling any and all file types. For me, this would triple the value of iOS hardware. Hence Apple File System could be Apples greatest reinvention ever.</span></p>

    • wunderbar

      Premium Member
      28 March, 2017 - 4:30 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#93381">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>yea… don't exepct that. There was nothing stopping them from doing it in the past. iOS isn't built with file system access in mind.</p>

  • Ron Diaz

    27 March, 2017 - 4:44 pm

    <p>Apple File System is what Microsoft tried and failed to do years ago.</p><p><br></p><p>Give some credit where credit is due…</p>

  • Thomas Parkison

    27 March, 2017 - 5:49 pm

    <p>It's far smoother running than iOS 10.2.1 on my iPhone 7 Plus. Far less graphical hitches. Overall better system performance.</p>

  • clowg

    Premium Member
    27 March, 2017 - 6:24 pm

    <p>I wouldn't rush out to get any iOS update these days. Wait for all the fanbois to do it and find the issues first. </p><p>They have had a string of 'initial issues' with each major release in the last couple of years.</p>

  • Ed

    Premium Member
    27 March, 2017 - 6:39 pm

    <p>Gained ~2gb in free space on my iPhone after the 10.3 update. Likely due to Apple's new file system in the update. I'm ok with that. :-)</p>

    • 1024freeman

      28 March, 2017 - 11:51 am

      <blockquote><a href="#93447"><em>In reply to Ed: </em></a></blockquote><p>Yes, also gained 2GB, 6p+</p>

  • glenn8878

    27 March, 2017 - 11:51 pm

    <p>Does it finally fix the battery bug? I hope so.</p>

  • Michael Rivers

    27 March, 2017 - 11:59 pm

    <p>I think 32 bit apps will stop working after this update, which really sucks because I rely on an old app to teach almost every day. It's the app maker's fault because Apple warned everybody two years ago to update their apps, but it still sucks for me. Guess I'll have to write my own.</p>

    • wunderbar

      Premium Member
      28 March, 2017 - 4:31 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#93461">In reply to Michael Rivers:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>No that break is apparently in iOS 11</p>

  • wocowboy

    Premium Member
    28 March, 2017 - 6:30 am

  • jbuccola

    28 March, 2017 - 8:42 am

    <p>Overnight, tens of millions of devices quietly had new file systems installed. As nerds, let's pause for a moment and marvel in that engineering feat. </p>

  • ForensicCPA

    Premium Member
    28 March, 2017 - 3:58 pm

    <p>All well and good, but they finally corrected the direction buttons in email lists so that rather than dyslexic arrows pointing left and right, you have a return to the up and down arrows where advancing to the next message is a right/downward arrow rather than the left arrow. That alone is worth the price of admission unless, of course, you're dyslexic.</p>

  • gvan

    31 March, 2017 - 2:26 pm

    <p>I still don't see anything about 4K support for Apple iTunes or Apple TV. Has anyone seen any 4K news from Apple? I'm seriously concerned that they might not have any plans to do 4K at all? I can't find anything from Apple about 4K, not even a vague statement like "Planning support 4K some day".</p>

  • williambelton

    14 October, 2017 - 3:59 am

    <p><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">With the constant updates for iOS from Apple, vShare has evolved its support as well and you can safely install vShare for iOS 10.3 on your iOS devices with latest firmware. Jailbreaking iOS 10 has been largely unfruitful so far.</span></p><p><br></p><p><a href="Download vShare for iOS 10.3 : http://vsharedownloadz.com/10.3/&quot; target="_blank" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">vShare for iOS 10.3</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

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