iOS 16.3 is coming soon: the new features that could come to your iPhone

Apple’s next iOS update is expected to arrive this week, and with it will likely come a handful of new features, bug fixes, and some Black History Month Designs for your iPhone. Public beta testersHowever, they have already been given access to iOS 16.3 beta.

As always, we recommend downloading a beta version only on something other than your primary device. Since these are beta versions of iOS 16.3, features may be buggy and your device’s battery life may be shortened, so it’s best to keep beta versions on a secondary device.

If you’re a public beta tester, here’s what’s new in the iOS 16.3 beta software. Keep in mind that the beta is still ongoing, so these are likely not the only new features coming to your iPhone when iOS 16.3 is officially released.

Apple Maps helps you find nearby parking options

If you use Apple Maps to get directions to a location, you can now find nearby parking within Maps. When looking for a place to go, you can touch More (…) and touch Parking lot. This opens SpotHero, an online service that helps you find, reserve, and pay for a parking space in a nearby garage or parking lot. You can also reserve a spot through SpotHero. However, this feature is only available in select cities.

New ways to use Emergency SOS via satellite

Satellite emergency SOS was introduced in Apple event 2022 in September. New beta software brings new ways to use the service on your iPhone.

In iOS 16.3 beta 2, the call on hold option has been replaced by Call with hold and release. if you enable Call with hold and release, you can press and hold the side button and a volume button to start a countdown and alarm. After the countdown, you release the buttons and your iPhone will call emergency services on its own. before with call on hold, by pressing the side button and a volume button, the SOS Emergency call slider would appear first. If you continued to hold the buttons, a countdown would begin and an alarm would sound. After the countdown ends, your phone will make an emergency call.

There is also an option to call silently in SOS Emergency. By enabling this option, when you try to make an emergency SOS call, your phone will not start flashing or make an alarm sound.

Security keys come to Apple ID

With the beta software, users will be able to use third-party security keys instead of two-factor authentication for their Apple ID.

Security keys are a lot like your house keys. You still use passwords, but this added layer of security can help protect you against phishing scams and hackers.

“Hardware security keys are very, very secure,” said Diya Jolly, product manager at authentication services company Okta. CNET’s Stephen Shankland.

The Apple Security Keys feature only works with security keys certified by the FIDO Alliance.

New HomePod transfer prompts

Beta testers who have a Apple HomePod new messages will be displayed when trying to use Free hands to transfer music, podcasts or phone calls to the speaker. The messages explain in more detail how Handoff works with your HomePod.

A message tells you to bring your iPhone closer to HomePod to see the controls or transfer your audio to HomePod. Another message says that you can bring your iPhone close to your HomePod again later to see those same controls or transfer music.

Those are the main new features that beta testers will see in iOS 16.3 beta. That doesn’t mean these are the only features coming to the next iOS update. Apple is likely to add more features before the release of iOS 16.3.

For more iOS 16 news, check out the new features at iOS 16.2 Y iOS 16.1. here is how Sign up to try Apple’s iOS beta softwaretoo.