Samuel Axon
Apple yesterday released iOS and iPadOS 17.3 as well as watchOS 10.3, tvOS 17.3, and macOS Sonoma 14.3 for all supported devices.
iOS 17.3 primarily adds collaborative playlists in Apple Music, and what Apple calls “Stolen Device Protection.” Collaborative playlists have been on a bit of a journey; they were promised as part of iOS 17, then added in the beta of iOS 17.2, but removed before that update went live. Now they’re finally reaching all users.
When enabled, Stolen Device Protection requires Face ID or Touch ID authentication “with no passcode fallback” for some sensitive actions on the phone.
And a related feature called Security Delay requires one use of Face ID or Touch ID, then a full hour’s wait, then another biometric authentication before certain particularly important actions can be performed, like changing the device’s passcode.
Other iOS 17.3 additions include support for AirPlay in participating hotels, an improved view for seeing the warranty status of all your devices, a new Unity wallpaper honoring Black History Month, and “crash detection optimizations.”
As is so often the case for these simultaneous operating system updates from Apple, iOS is the most robust. macOS 14.3 also adds the collaborative playlist feature and the AppleCare & Warranty Settings panel, but that’s about it as far as user-facing additions.
watchOS 10.3 adds a new 2024 Black Unity face that is meant to pair with a new watchband by the same name. And tvOS 17.3 simply reintroduces the previously removed iTunes Movie and TV Show Wishlist feature.
iOS 17.3 release notes
Stolen Device Protection
- Stolen Device Protection increases security of iPhone and Apple ID by requiring Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback to perform certain actions
- Security Delay requires Face ID or Touch ID, an hour wait, and then an additional successful biometric authentication before sensitive operations like changing device passcode or Apple ID password can be performed
Lock Screen
- New Unity wallpaper honors Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month
Music
- Collaborate on playlists allows you to invite friends to join your playlist and everyone can add, reorder, and remove songs
- Emoji reactions can be added to any track in a collaborative playlist
This update also includes the following improvements:
- AirPlay hotel support lets you stream content directly to the TV in your room in select hotels
- AppleCare & Warranty in Settings shows your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID
- Crash detection optimizations (all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models)
macOS 14.3 Sonoma release notes
- Collaborate on playlists in Apple Music allows you to invite friends to join your playlist and everyone can add, reorder, and remove songs
- Emoji reactions can be added to any track in a collaborative playlist in Apple Music
- AppleCare & Warranty in Settings shows your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID
