What’s New in iOS 10.3.1 & Should I Update?

Last month Apple officially released the iOS 10.3 with many known issues fixed. A week later it rolled out iOS 10.3.1 and solved some problems with 10.3. Now the second beta of iOS 10.3.2 has been available for developers and public beta testers.

• iOS 10.3

iOS 10.3 is considered a major update which brings many notable features. One of the remarkable features is the Find My AirPods service within the Find My iPhone app, which helps users to locate their missing AirPods. Other new built-in features includes a new Podcasts app widget, smoother app animations, a new Apple ID settings menu, a new iCloud section and a Maps app 3D Touch Quick Action feature, etc.

As for developers, they can now change app icons without having to submit an update, and finally they can directly respond to customer reviews on the App Store. The incoming reviews will be displayed in a page under App > Activity > Ratings and Reviews. Customers will be notified when developer makes a reply. With this regard, Apple offers some suggestions about how developers should reply to user reviews.

Apps using the SKStoreReviewController API allow users to rate or review the app inside itself, without having to direct users to the App Store for the purpose.

Meanwhile, the company replaced the existing HFS+ system with the new “Apple File System” (APFS) in iOS 10.3. The HFS+ has been used for Apple’s computer operating system since 1998. Introduced in WWDC 2016, APFS is optimized for Flash and SSD storage, stronger encryption and file cloning. This new file system will be used on Apple Watch, Apple TV, MacBook, iMac and Mac Pro as well. Some users notice that it takes much time to upgrade to iOS 10.3, though the download file is around 600 MB. Yet after the update their devices may have more storage space and capacity, due to the new way in which APFS calculates data.

• iOS 10.3.1

Apple did not provide any betas of 10.3.1 before the release. As a minor update, it mainly patches security issues, including a Wi-Fi flaw that was reported by Gal Beniamini of Google Project Zero. This flaw allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the Wi-Fi chip. iOS 10.3.1 also fix the OTA update issue for 32-bit devices.

You can install iOS 10.3.1 by going to Settings > General > Software Update, or by connecting your iPhone to iTunes on desktop computer. It is available for the recent years’ devices like iPhone 5 and later, iPad 4 and later, and iPod touch 6 and later.

• iOS 10.3.2

iOS 10.3.2 comes for tester shortly after the release of iOS 10.3.1, and it fixes SiriKit car commands, according to Apple’s release notes. Apart from that, it is still not clear what other bug fixes and improvements are included in the second beta of 10.3.2.

What do you think of the latest iOS 10.3.1 update? Have you updated your iPhone yet? If not, we highly suggest you to check out the updates right away for security purpose.