Apple iOS 10.3 Beta 1 released to developers - Here's what's New

Apple has released the first beta of iOS 10.3 to the developer community, in order to get their apps prepared for the upcoming update to Apple's mobile platform. Developers will need to be registered in the Apple Developer Program in order to download and install this update on their compatible iOS devices. Find out what's new in iOS 10.3 after the break

While Apple has released an official changelog to its developers, some of the highlights of the update can be found below:

Software Features For AirPods

Apple introduced its weireless earphones, the AirPods back in September. And one of the features the accessory was lacking at launch, was the need to securely track the AirPods. Since the AirPods are small and wireless the likelihood of them getting lost is pretty high.

For this reason, Apple has introduced a new feature called Find My AirPods within its Find My iPhone, which lets users track their devices on a map using iCloud. The app will play a sound from the AirPods to help you locate them, which will get louder as you move closer to the device.

However, since AirPods are connected to your iOS device only via Bluetooth, this feature will work only if they are within a range of 5 to 10 meters of your device.

Improved Siri Functionality

Siri has received some enhancements in Beta 1, making it more useful as a voice assistant. These changes are expected to trickle down to the official iOS 10.3 update.

One change is focussed on the Asia Pacific region, allowing iOS users to display cricket scores from tournaments such as the Indian Premier League.

You will now be able to book Uber and Lyft rides by just issuing voice commands to Siri. In addition to this, Siri will allow you to check and pay bills using payment apps.

With the continuous improvements being made to Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa, Siri is expected to get further attention in the near future.

Improved 3D Touch

Apple is expected to add more 3D Touch-specific features to iPhones. Users can now utilize 3D Touch on weather icon in the Maps app to get hourly forecasts, chances of rain and daily high and low temperatures.

Improved CarPlay Functionality

Apple’s auto functionality, CarPlay, will be able to launch the music app and pick a song or album or artist. The Maps app will now show EV charging stations.

Apple File System

The Apple File System (APFS) will be introduced with the iOS 10.3 update, which allows multiple file systems to share the same space on the device memory instead of fixed amount of space for each file system.

APFS can grow and shrink without the need for repartitioning your device memory. Basically, this means your device will be managing the onboard memory better with APFS. APFS will also allow native encryption and let you assign multi-key encryption that will make user data more secure.

Additionally, if you lose your device, your data will be more secure and harder to access.

The official changelog, as released to developers, can be seen below: