iOS 16.3 is available for all iPhones 8 and later with a few interesting features, including physical security key support for Apple IDs. More importantly, it also contains several bug fixes and security updates that iPhone users have been waiting for.
According to Apple’s release notes, the iOS 16.3 update “fixes an issue where horizontal lines may temporarily appear while waking up iPhone 14 Pro Max.” Over the past several weeks, some iPhone 14 users have complained about horizontal lines flashing across their screens. According to reports on social media and discussion boards, the lines appear when the iPhone wakes up or restarts. Additionally, the release fixes some nagging bugs with the Lock Screen, Siri, and CarPlay:
- Addresses an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen
- Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status
- Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests
- Resolves issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly
There are also several security updates that could cause major problems for your device if left unpatched. The most concerning involved Screen Time, Apple’s parental control and screen management app. According to the entry, iOS 16.3 fixes an issue where an app “may be able to access information about a user’s contacts.” The update also includes a handful of fixes that could lead to arbitrary code execution.
The update also will likely bring back the new Home architecture that previously arrived in iOS 16.2. Just before the holidays, Apple pulled the feature, which improves reliability and efficiency, due to a sharing issue–but without providing an update on when it would be restored. The Home architecture upgrade re-appeared in the second iOS 16.3 beta, suggesting that Apple has fixed the issue. However, there isn’t a mention of it in the release notes, so it might appear at some point before the launch of iOS 16.4.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.