Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 13.3 updates to developers, one week after seeding second betas and three weeks after the release of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2 with new emoji, Siri privacy controls, Deep Fusion, and more.
iOS and iPadOS 13.3 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper developer profile has been installed.
iOS 13.3 introduces Communication Limits for Screen Time, a feature that Apple promised would be coming in an iOS 13 update. Communication Limits allow parents to control who their children are able to contact both during downtime and during Screen Time.
Communication Limits include FaceTime, Phone, and Messages, along with iCloud contacts. Calls to emergency numbers are always allowed and will turn off communication limits for 24 hours when placed.
The update includes support for NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-compliant security keys in Safari. That means physical security keys like the Lightning-equipped YubiKey can be used for more secure two-factor authentication in place of a software-based two-factor authentication option.
In the Keyboards section of the Settings app (under General), there's a new toggle that prevents Animoji and Memoji stickers from being displayed as an option on the Emoji Keyboard, and when editing a video, there's an option to save the edited version as a new clip rather than saving over the original.
Apple has also tweaked the Apple Watch app icon, changing the color of the Digital Crown from black to gray.
Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products.
Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition.
The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released.
iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports.
Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
Black Friday is in full swing, and as always this is the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia.
Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production.
Apple supplier Foxconn has...
Why do you have to type in your iPhone password when starting the software update? I mean, isn't FaceID secure enough???
Apple explains this in their security white paper:
In the case of an Over-The-Air (OTA) software update, the user is prompted for their passcode when initiating the update. This is used to securely create a one-time Unlock Token, which unlocks the user keybag after the update. This token can’t be generated without entering the user’s passcode, and any previously generated token is invalidated if the user’s passcode changed.
There's more details there, if you're curious. Look for Escrow keybag. I pulled the text from the iOS 12.3 white paper. If there's one for 13 I haven't seen it yet.
so after all the fuss about animoji & memoji and emojis, someone came to their senses over there and now we can turn the whole bloody show off via a keyboard toggle. Thank goodness. Granted a couple of the emoji are useful (red dot, green check etc) but it has become so overwhelming that I never wanted to open up that Pandora's box anymore.
Why do you have to type in your iPhone password when starting the software update? I mean, isn't FaceID secure enough???
FaceID can handle 2 faces. Let's say I decide to give my child one of those slots so they can play on my phone. Do I really want a 5 year old deciding to install an update? Probably not. Or the other face belongs to my wife. Again, I wouldn't want her to install an update on my phone without my knowledge.
My boys are actually 17 and 22 and have their own devices and I don't let ANYONE else into my phone. But it's a possibility that ought to be considered. Especially with the older TouchID system where you could in theory have 4 other people who could unlock your phone.
The other explanation I've heard is that your passcode is your security. FaceID is a quick and easy way to bypass that security. It's a biometric convenience, not the actual security itself. Which is why you need to enter your passcode after a reboot or when doing something as important as updating the entire OS.
There's some (possibly) lame excuses that may or may not satisfy your curiosity. Honestly, it's a question I've asked myself and I all I could come up with was "extra security". Like asking "Are you sure?" before deleting a file.
