Apple Seeds Seventh Beta of iOS 9.3 to Developers and Public Beta Testers

ios93Apple today seeded the seventh beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3 update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the sixth iOS 9.3 beta and more than three months after the public release of iOS 9.2, the last major update to iOS 9. iOS 9.3 has been in testing since January 11.

The seventh iOS 9.3 beta is available as an over-the-air update and through the iOS section of the Apple Developer Center (developers only).

As a major update to the iOS 9 operating system, iOS 9.3 introduces several new features. There's a Night Shift mode to reduce the amount of blue light iOS users are exposed to in the evening by shifting the iPad or iPhone display to a warmer (yellower) color spectrum, and there are several features designed to improve the iPad for Education program, such as multi-user login. Multi-user login, while an appealing feature, is limited to MDM customers and is not available to the general public.


Multiple apps and features are also seeing updates in iOS 9.3. Apple News includes more personalized recommendations, faster updates, a landscape view on the iPhone, and support for in-line video, while Health includes an Apple Watch-style "Activity" view, Notes has an option to password protect individual entries, and third-party apps can add songs to Apple Music.

Apple Music for CarPlay offers "New" and "For You" sections for better music discovery in iOS 9.3, and a Nearby Feature in CarPlay Maps offers more information about points of interest that are close by. Paired with watchOS 2.2, an iPhone running iOS 9.3 is able to support multiple Apple Watches, and for iPhone 6s users, there are new Quick Actions for Weather, Settings, Compass, Health, App Store, and iTunes Store.

This is likely to be one of the last betas of iOS 9.3 we'll see before it is released to the public. Apple is planning to launch iOS 9.3 in the spring, perhaps following an event that is scheduled to take place on March 21.

Tag: iOS 9.3
Related Forum: iOS 9

Top Rated Comments

Tycho24 Avatar
106 months ago
Holy crap!
Is it my imagination or is this a lot of betas??
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
106 months ago
please dont fix the animation bug.

edit: still works :)
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shunnabunich Avatar
106 months ago
One Year Later…

Tim Cook Sends Company-wide Email in Honor of Hundredth iOS 9.3 Beta

In an email sent to employees today, Apple CEO Tim Cook offered his congratulations to the iOS development team on the release of the one-hundredth Public Beta release of iOS 9.3. The memo comes on the heels of recent public criticism ('http://you.didntexpe.ct/anactual/link/here.didyou') regarding the company's continued work on the update despite iOS 10's debut nearly six months prior, as well as Apple's announcement of the upcoming iOS 11 at a media event ('http://sorry.thisone.is/notalink.either') last week. The full email has been posted by 9to5Mac ('http://what.areyoustill.ch/ecking/these.links?i=guess-im-kinda-flattered&or=something').

Team,

Today, we released the one-hundredth beta of iOS 9.3 to our incredibly dedicated community of developers and public beta testers. It has been a long and arduous journey, but I can truthfully say that 9.3 is closer to release than it has ever been.

The iOS team continues to set an example of Apple's unwavering dedication to quality for the rest of the industry. Over the last year, we've released iOS 10, which has brought a wealth of innovations to more people around the world than ever before; we've made great strides toward the release of iOS 11; and, as I promised our customers last April, we've never lost sight of our goal to bring a truly rock-solid iOS 9.3 to those still using older devices.

I am deeply proud of the efforts you and your coworkers have made to deliver amazing and magical products which enrich the lives of countless millions of people, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for the ingenious and tireless work that you do.

Tim
As a major update to the iOS 9 operating system, iOS 9.3 introduces several long-awaited features ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/11/whats-new-in-ios-9-3/'). Night Shift mode ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/11/apple-ios-9-3-night-shift/'), introduced with iOS 10.0 last fall, reduces the amount of blue light users are exposed to in the evening by shifting the display of an iOS device to a warmer, more yellowish color spectrum. Improvements to CarPlay and Apple News are also included, as well as additional Quick Actions for included apps and support for multiple Apple Watches.

Apple is planning to launch iOS 9.3 this summer.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bentron Avatar
106 months ago
Seems like iOS 9.3 has been around for ages now and it still hasn't even been released to the public!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
106 months ago
This many beta of a .xx release is pretty unheard of right?
The number has been increasing. It's not uncommon for betas to have far more iterations, especially when working with new features. While it may be more than we've seen in other betas I don't think it's anything special or to be alarmed about. The hope is more that they're getting all the issues out of the way with additional rounds of fixes followed by testing.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Richardgm Avatar
106 months ago
Would someone mind elaborating on the animation bug? What is it?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Delta Feature

Delta Game Emulator Now Available From App Store on iPhone

Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Friday April 12, 2024 11:11 am PDT by
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
iOS NES Emulator Bimmy Feature

NES Emulator for iPhone and iPad Now Available on App Store [Removed]

Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
iGBA Feature

Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

Sunday April 14, 2024 9:22 pm PDT by
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,...
iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Translate

All iPhone 16 Models to Feature Action Button, But Usefulness Debated

Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
iGBA Feature

Game Boy Emulator for iPhone Now Available in App Store Following Rule Change [Removed]

Sunday April 14, 2024 8:06 am PDT by
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that...