iOS 10.3, macOS 10.12.4, watchOS 3.2, tvOS 10.2 Updates Now Available
Apple has released iOS 10.3, macOS 10.12.4 Sierra, tvOS 10.2, and watchOS 3.2 updates to the general public, after running them in beta for a while. These updates bring bug fixes and improvements across entire Apple’s product lineup, the big highlight being the ability for Siri to show live scores from Indian Premier League (IPL) and International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket matches, apart from answering other queries.
iOS 10.3
First up, iOS 10.3 brings along the ‘Find My AirPods’ feature – a much needed addition given the nature of the tiny accessory. This feature is found in the Find My iPhone app, and it means that you can search for the AirPods from the app, as long as they are within Bluetooth range of any of your iOS devices signed into iCloud. Because of the limited range, it isn’t as efficient as Find My iPhone, but it’s still handy if you lose your AirPods somewhere in your house. Within the app, you can look for the pair, or just one earbud, as you prefer. The AirPods will start emitting a loud sound revealing its hiding place, or the map onscreen can also take you to the lost earbud easily.
Furthermore, Siri gets the ability to show live cricket scores from matches of the IPL and the ICC. The digital assistant will give you real-time ball-by-ball update of the most popular game format in India, a handy feature for all cricket fans in the country (especially with IPL season 10 just around the corner). You can even ask Siri other IPL-related questions like ‘What are the 2016 IPL rankings?’, ‘Who leads the IPL in runs scored?’, ‘Show me Virat Kohli stats’, ‘When is the next Cricket match?’, and Siri will reply immediately. Match schedules and player rosters can also be checked.
Furthermore, Apple has also added a system-wide API that allows app developers to ask for a review, and even reply to it – building developer-customer dialogue, and iOS 10.3 also brings iCloud Analytics for the first time. The entire changelog is below:
iOS 10.3 introduces new features including the ability to locate AirPods using Find my iPhone and more ways to use Siri with payment, ride booking and automaker apps.
Find My iPhone
View the current or last known location of your AirPods
Play a sound on one or both AirPods to help you find them
Siri
Support for paying and checking status of bills with payment apps
Support for scheduling with ride booking apps
Support for checking car fuel level, lock status, turning on lights and activating horn with automaker apps
Cricket sports scores and statistics for Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council
CarPlay
Shortcuts in the status bar for easy access to last used apps
Apple Music Now Playing screen gives access to Up Next and the currently playing song’s album
Daily curated playlists and new music categories in Apple Music
Other improvements and fixes
Rent once and watch your iTunes movies across your devices
New Settings unified view for your Apple ID account information, settings and devices
Hourly weather in Maps using 3D Touch on the displayed current temperature
Support for searching “parked car” in Maps
Calendar adds the ability to delete an unwanted invite and report it as junk
Home app support to trigger scenes using accessories with switches and buttons
Home app support for accessory battery level status
Podcasts support for 3D Touch and Today widget to access recently updated shows
Podcast shows or episodes are shareable to Messages with full playback support
Fixes an issue that could prevent Maps from displaying your current location after resetting Location & Privacy
VoiceOver stability improvements for Phone, Safari and Mail
To download the update, ensure that you have good Wi-Fi strength, and your device is charged up to 50 percent at least. Don’t forget to backup your iOS device before you download and install the update. To download and install it directly on your iOS device, go to Settings > General > Software Update, and tap Download and Install. When the download is complete, tap Install and tap Agree when Apple shows you its Terms and Conditions. Your device will the restart and install the update. To download iOS 10 via iTunes, first install iTunes, open it, and then connect your iOS device to your PC or Mac. In iTunes select your device’s icon on the top bar, click the Summary tab and then click Check for update. Now, click Download and update. At this point, you should follow the simple on-screen instructions to install iOS 10.
macOS 10.12.4
macOS 10.12.4 update is also rolling out and it brings along the iOS Night Shift feature that automatically shifts the colours in your display to the warmer end of the spectrum after dark. With this update, Mac users also get added Siri support for cricket sports scores and statistics for Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council. Apart from this, there are several new features that macOS 10.12.4 brings, and the update is available through the Mac App Store. The entire changelog is given below:
The macOS Sierra 10.12.4 Update improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, and is recommended for all users.This update:
Adds Night Shift for automatically shifting the colors in your display to the warmer end of the spectrum after dark.
Adds Siri support for cricket scores, schedules, and player rosters from the Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council.
Adds Dictation support for Shanghainese.
Improves right-to-left language support for the Touch Bar, toolbar, and visual tab picker in Safari.
Resolves several PDF rendering and annotation issues in Preview.
Improves the visibility of the subject line when using Conversation View in Mail.
Fixes an issue that may prevent content from appearing in Mail messages.
Adds support for more digital camera RAW formats.
Enterprise content:
Adds the tethered-caching command, which optimizes certain downloads for iOS devices tethered via USB. For details, enter man tethered-caching in Terminal.
Updates the security command to include the delete-identity option, which deletes both a certificate and its private key from a keychain. For details, enter man security in Terminal.
Updates the profiles command to include the -N flag, which displays a device-enrollment notification that prompts the user to complete Mobile Device Management (MDM) enrollment. For details, enter man profiles in Terminal.
Fixes an issue that causes notebook computers connected to certain docking stations to display a blank screen instead of the macOS login window on the built-in display.
Fixes an issue that causes a newly changed user-account password to be rejected at the macOS login window, if FileVault is turned on.
Adds the ability to automatically renew certain certificates delivered via a configuration profile.
Includes numerous Xsan fixes.
watchOS 3.2
Apple has also upgraded watchOS 3.1.3 to watchOS 3.2 for all Apple Watch users, and as the beta build suggested, it brings along Theatre Mode and SiriKit as the most notable features. The new Theater Mode lets users quickly mute the sound on their Apple Watch and avoid waking the screen on wrist raise. You will still continue to receive notifications (with haptic feedback) while in Theater Mode, and can even view them by pressing the digital crown or tapping on the screen.
But the biggest change with watchOS 3.2 is the introduction of SiriKit which allows developers to tap into Siri for integration. With this, users will be able to ask Siri on their Apple Watch to book a ride, send a message, make a payment, search photos, or make other requests that the app can handle. You can download the latest update through the Apple Watch app by heading to General -> Software Update.
Ensure that you have 50 percent battery, and are running on iOS 10 or later on your iPhone to be able to download the update. Refer Apple’s website for detailed instructions on how to update your Apple Watch to the latest OS version.
tvOS 10.2
Apple also rolled out tvOS 10.2 update, and while it doesn’t bring any big changes, the company has been steadily improving the platform with bug fixes and improvements of various kinds. The update is only compatible for the fourth-gen Apple TV, and to launch the update manually, head to Settings app > Navigate to System > Software Updates > Update Software. Specifically, tvOS 10.2 changelog includes:
Accelerated Scrolling support for UIKit and TVMLKit apps
Device Enrollment Program support
Expanded Mobile Device Management support
Support for the VideoToolbox framework
OS X Yosemite, El Capitan security updates
Interestingly, Apple has also released a security update for Mac machines running OS X Yosemite and El Capitan. The Security Update 2017-001 is being pushed and ‘is recommended for all users and improves the security of OS X.’ Your Mac will mostly prompt you to install it automatically, but if you can’t wait, here are the links for El Capitan and Yosemite users. Because it’s a security update, we recommend all users to download it on their Mac devices.