Apple releases iOS 16.3 with support for the new HomePod and watchOS 9.3

As promised last week, today Apple released iOS 16.3 to all supported devices. If you have a compatible iPhone, and it hasn’t notified you of the update yet, you can grab it by going to Settings > General > Software Update. That’s the beauty of Apple’s rollouts, they’re not staged.

The new version comes with support for Security Keys for Apple ID, allowing for physical two-factor authentication for Apple ID logins. You also get a new Unity wallpaper, and support for the just unveiled second-gen HomePod.

The Emergency SOS feature has been tweaked to prevent accidental calls – you activate it by holding down the side button with the volume up or down button together, but the call won’t be placed until the buttons are released.

Of course there’s an assortment of bug fixes too, including an issue in Freeform where some strokes created with a finger or Apple Pencil wouldn’t appear on shared boards, an issue that made the wallpaper appear black on the lock screen, one that made horizontal lines temporarily appear while waking up the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and one which prevented the Home app’s lock screen widget from displaying accurate status.

An issue which made Siri not respond properly to music requests has also been addressed, as have problems with Siri requests in CarPlay, which may not have been understood correctly.

For those still using iOS 15, Apple has also released iOS 15.7.3, and for those who have a much older device stuck on iOS 12, there’s iOS 12.5.7, both security updates which you should probably install sooner, rather than later.

Finally, watchOS 9.3 is now live and it comes with a new watch face, as well as unnamed performance improvements and bug fixes. This is available through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone.

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