Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the updates available a day after the launch of iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2.
Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the “Beta Updates” option, and toggling on the iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 Developer Beta. An Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.
iOS 17.3 introduces a Stolen Device Protection feature that limits access to your private information in case someone obtains both your iPhone and your passcode. When activated, it requires Face ID or Touch ID identity verification to do things like accessing passwords in iCloud Keychain, turning off Lost Mode, making purchases through Safari with saved payment credentials, and more.
There are also features that require verification and have a one-hour delay to access, such as changing an Apple ID passcode, an iPhone passcode, turning off Find My, and turning off Face ID. More details can be found in our article on Stolen Device Protection.
We are also still waiting on a handful of new features that Apple promised would be coming in iOS 17, including collaborative Apple Music playlists and AirPlay on Hotel Room TVs. Apple recently said that both of these features will be coming in 2024, so we could see them in this beta as iOS 17.3 is expected to launch sometime in January 2024.
Apple is also working on app sideloading in the European Union, a next-generation CarPlay feature, and the adoption of rich communication services (RCS), but these may be features that instead come in iOS 18.
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