Apple’s spring showcase will see the official public debut of iOS 9.3, which will bring new health and accessibility improvements to the iPhones and iPads it's compatible with.
In this article you’ll find the latest news on this iteration of iOS, a breakdown of its major features and when you’ll be able to access it.
iOS 9.3 at-a-glance
- - iOS 9.3 was released on 21 March
- - It introduces an automatic brightness adjuster, called Night Shift, adds more personalisation options, and include tweaks for Apple Watch and CarPlay
- - The software is expected to debut alongside the iPhone SE
- - Next iteration, iOS 9.4, will likely appear before annual Apple’s WWDC event in June
Latest news
29/03/2016: Apple’s latest mobile operating system is blocking iPhone and iPad users from clicking links.
Thousands of people who have downloaded iOS 9.3 to their iPhone or iPad say they are unable to follow links when they tap on them. Some have said the links simply do nothing, while others have said clicking links causes apps to crash.
The problem is believed to stem from the way different apps use Apple’s universal links feature, which was introduced with iOS 9 last September. It enables developers to direct users straight to their app on the App Store – instead of redirecting users to their website – when the users click links to their domains.
But apps that make frequent use of the feature, such as Wikipedia, appear to be registering too many domains for the universal links feature to handle.
The issue has reportedly flared up with roll out of iOS 9.3, because each time an update is installed the device reprocesses all of the domains that are intended to send users to apps rather than websites.
Some iPhones and iPads are struggling to cope with the large volume of them, which appears to be causing the apps to crash.
An Apple spokesperson told the Independent: “We are aware of this issue, and we will release a fix in a software update soon.”
24/03/2016: Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 9.3, is causing some iPads to crash during installation.
Users of the iPad 2 have reported their devices bricking after upgrading to iOS 9.3 via the Software Update option in Settings.
An error message appears telling them: “Your iPad could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try connecting your iPad to iTunes to activate it, or try again in a couple of minutes. If this problem persists, contact apple support at apple.com/support.”
After rebooting, iPad 2 users cannot activate their device, rendering it bricked.
According to users complaining about the flaw on Apple Support Communities, when they try to update the operating system via iTunes, another error message appears telling them to take their devices to an Apple Store.
One user, iSenthil910, said: “I guess, Apple missed the [iPad 2] device in their install testing for iOS 9.3.”
A fairly complicated solution posted by user ottoindo gives a six-step guide to fixing the problem.
22/03/2016: Apple’s latest mobile operating system received its public release yesterday, following Apple’s spring press conference.
iOS 9.3 introduces a specially-designed mode, called Night Shift, which is intended to help people get to sleep after using their tablets before bed.
The latest software has been in beta testing for several weeks, giving developers and people in Apple’s special preview scheme the chance to explore what it can do.
In addition to headline feature, Night Shift, the software also includes improvements to the Health app for iPhone, and will enable multiple Apple Watches to be paired with a single iPhone, include a usability addition for Apple Music when viewed through CarPlay, and 3D Touch will now offer shortcuts to a number of apps.
iOS 9.3 is a packed up for Apple’s mobile devices, and it has been marked as potentially signalling a change in Apple’s annual software rollout plans. Rather than saving up all it major updates for its annual software update, its is thought the software maker may roll its key features as and when they are finished.
Release date
iOS 9.3 was released on March 21, following Apple’s spring press conference.
Alongside the new OS, Apple debuted a new compact iPhone, named iPhone SE.
iOS 9.3 is expected to be supported by all iPhone models back to the iPhone 4S, all iPad and iPad Mini models (excluding the 2010 1st generation iPad), and the 5th and 6th generations of the iPod Touch.
Features
Night Shift
The headline feature of 9.3 is called Night Shift, which is intended to help people get to sleep after using their tablets before bed by softening the screen’s brightness and contrast by subtle degrees.
It works by manually or automatically making the display colour warmer so that it is less harsh on your eyes when viewed at night. Users can adjust the colour temperature in the Settings app.
Health app
Easier app discovery is promised for Apple’s built-in Health app, which launched with iOS 8. The will also now include data from the Apple Watch and Activity app.
Apple Music on CarPlay
CarPlay now has support for the ‘For You’ and ‘New’ tabs in its Music app. And the Nearby feature in Apple Maps which quickly lets you discover points-of-interest nearby has also been added.
Apple News
Apple’s dedicated media aggregation service, the News app, debuts with a launch of iOS 9. Apple News will now deliver stories that are better curated to a user’s tastes. It will suggests its own picks to users at the top.
The app has also been optimised to refresh much faster. Stories that contains videos can now be viewed directly from the main feed, and it now supports landscape viewing on iPhone.
iOS in the classroom
The new OS adds support for multi-user logins for schools so any student can log in (with a passcode) to an iPad issued by the school. It also adds a new Classroom app for those devices registered with schools which will allow teachers to guide students through a lesson, see their progress.
Support for a device manager has also been added, so school administrators can set up multiple Apple IDs, change passwords, enrol students in iTunes U courses, and so on.
Additional features
Additonally, Apple’s Notes app now has support for encrypting notes with a passcode or Touch ID.
And, on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, 3D Touch shortcuts have been added for the Health, Settings, Weather, App Store, Stocks, and Compass apps.
Battery life
A new low power mode debuted with iOS 9 to solve the much-criticised battery life problems users have faced with previous iterations of iOS. No announcements have yet been made about battery life tweaks in 9.3.
