iOS 11.3 Coming This Spring With New Animoji, Vertical ARKit, Health Records, Battery Info, and More

[mlabonte21]

- Apple Music will soon be the home for music videos. Users can stream all the music videos they want without being interrupted by ads. They can also watch the hottest new videos, the classics or ones from their favorite artists back-to-back in new music video playlists.

Will this be free for everybody-- or only Apple Music subscribers?

They never mentioned the word 'subscriber'....

 

[Paddle1]

They did this last year with 10.3, if memory serves.

They didn't do a press release like this.

 

[bgro]

I think it's pretty safe to say that at this point Messages in the Cloud and Airplay 2 will be iOS 12 features. Hope I'm proven wrong but seems that way especially based on the HomePod "coming later this year" thing for multi room audit (an Airplay 2 feature)

 

[Ribitsch]

Can’t wait for Apple Music „music video stations“ in radio
I’m eager to see how they implement it

 

[CoolGuy9890]

Hopefully the business chat feature will include Apple Support

 

[lenard]

This is great stuff but where is the iMessage in the Cloud that was promised at last years WDC??

Its up there......

 

[adamjackson]

I must be getting old. There is absolutely nothing I care about or will use in this update. Sigh.

 

[jakeowens]

Music videos in Apple Music? I'm actually kind of excited about this. Though perhaps it should be called Apple Multimedia at that point.

Also, I don't understand what the hoopla is about iMessages in the Cloud? They're synced across all devices anyway (except for my SE without a SIM in it for some reason).

Here's why we want iMessages in the Cloud: When you format your mac or even turn it off while on Vacation, those messages don't go to it. So when you format, you have no messages to start. And when you turned off your computer or deactivated imessages while you're away, then you are missing all those messages as well. So everything is then out of sync.

 

[Awesome discussion]

I must be getting old. There is absolutely nothing I care about or will use in this update. Sigh.

makes two of us - but like in the 11.2.5 update, there a lot of security fixes and thats why i keep on updating

 

[bflowers]

Deal with Disney, you must make. Yoda animoji, I do need! Spend money, I will.

 

[-BigMac-]

I wasnt responding to the beta remark. Pls check i was referring to the homebar previous user mentioned

 

[hinesmj]

Nice. Maybe they'll fix carplay?

 

[kemal]

Clearly we need Apple Team Animoji to fix iTunes* and build the mMac Pro. They seem to be the only ones doing anything.

*This is a metaphor for everything wrong with Apple software.

 

[jonnyb098]

I’m still hoping this year at WWDC we will just see 11.5. No new features. Just fix the mess they’ve created. 11.2.5 and I see something as silly as the weather widget still doesn’t like to update on my 6S.

I think we can all agree that there are some major problems in apple’s software QC. Just make everything better. Because as stable as 11.3 will make most things, it’ll only last a few months till iOS 12 comes along and screws it all up.....round and round we go.

 

[asopublic]

Business Chat is interesting. At most small businesses, you can't order online and they don't take Apple Pay. Would a very small business be able to use Business Chat for customer orders and accepting Apple Pay Cash without needing an IT team once rolled out generally?

 

[cmaier]

Feels odd that a feature like Animoji needs to be enabled via a software patch. Apple should really look at decoupling these kind of stuff from the core OS and maybe look into App Store updates or even cloud updates for such minor stuff?

It’s intentional. They like everyone to update the OS, and dopey things like new emoji or new Animoji are powerful incentives for a certain portion of the user base.

 

[JM]

I really hate the cellphone landscape today. Either I have to choose privacy paired with an overpriced animoji creation device and a marketing machine aimed at people with too much money to spend on frivolous features like ****ing animoji (and a company that can't be bothered to release an OS that offers "boring" stability)...

Or, a respectable OS that offers useful/customizable features paired with deplorable tracking practices.

....and yes I would use a flip phone if it had capable mapping capabilities, internet browsing, weather forecast, a good camera,...

...and yes I just posted this on an iPhone. The hypocrisy is not lost on me, but I can still complain about 11.3 and their lack of concern for fixing existing problems.

 

[cmaier]

Will this be free for everybody-- or only Apple Music subscribers?

They never mentioned the word 'subscriber'....

“Apple Music” is a subscription service, no? I would assume it’s for subscribers since Apple has to pay licensing fees for showing you the videos.

 

[xpxp2002]

i though this:

- HomeKit software authentication provides a great new way for developers to add HomeKit support to existing accessories while protecting privacy and security.

was already in iOS 11. never knew it slipped?

Same here. I guess it explains all these IOT device makers who have been pushing back adding HomeKit support in software for months.

 

[Defthand]

This is great stuff but where is the iMessage in the Cloud that was promised at last years WDC??

Honestly, despite all of Apple's hand-selected talent, it's likely that a small start up will have to first demonstrate that it's feasible before Apple can. It happened with Dropbox when Apple was fumbling with its own cloud service. Apple says it is intentionally late to parties so it it can study others' ideas and improve on them. I'm doubting they are the innovators they were thought to be.

 

[cmaier]

Here's why we want iMessages in the Cloud: When you format your mac or even turn it off while on Vacation, those messages don't go to it. So when you format, you have no messages to start. And when you turned off your computer or deactivated imessages while you're away, then you are missing all those messages as well. So everything is then out of sync.

You often “format” your Mac?

Looking forward to them turning this back on (it actually existed for awhile in the developer betas and worked ok, though there was some glitchiness for some people)

 

[BornAgainMac]

I completely forgot about iCloud messages. I have to watch the keynote again to see if that is something they were going to launch or something that would be a cool idea.

 

[xpxp2002]

I don’t understand how iMessages in the Cloud can be so difficult to release.

As it stands right now my messages sync with my Mac and whenever you backup your phone all of the messages are backed up too.

I don’t see the big deal with the messages actively syncing with the cloud AND your devices.

Ironically, even Microsoft had this working in Windows Phone -- three years ago. If Microsoft of all companies could manage to ship this in one of their most famously failed products of the post-Gates era, I can't believe that Apple can't. Especially since it was 80% done in the beta.

 

[cmaier]

I completely forgot about iCloud messages. I have to watch the keynote again to see if that is something they were going to launch or something that would be a cool idea.

It was actually available in developer betas before being removed. A few people had problems with it and they pulled it, presumably to fix catastrophic bugs.

 

[Fabian90]

Feels odd that a feature like Animoji needs to be enabled via a software patch. Apple should really look at decoupling these kind of stuff from the core OS and maybe look into App Store updates or even cloud updates for such minor stuff?

but that is what makes people install security updates. who (of normal users) would patch their device for a security update?