Apple Just Released iOS 26.3 With These New Features

It’s officially time for another iPhone update: Apple dropped iOS 26.3 for compatible iPhones on Wednesday, after nearly two months of beta testing. Unlike iOS 26 itself, or even iOS 26.1 and iOS 26.2, iOS 26.3 isn’t exactly feature-packed. But there are some interesting (and important) changes worth noting, including an easier way to exit the iPhone altogether.

iOS 26.3 makes it easier to transfer data from your iPhone to Android

Last December, we discovered a small but important new iOS feature: an official way to make the transfer between an iPhone and an Android device smoother. In the “Transfer or reset iPhone” settings in iOS, there is now a new “Transfer to Android” option. Tap it and iOS asks you to place your iPhone near your Android device; From there you can choose to transmit data such as photos, messages, notes and applications. However, it appears that not all data will be transferred: health data, Bluetooth-paired devices, and “protected items” like locked notes will not come with this transfer feature.

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Apple actually worked directly with Google on this feature, which means it doesn’t just go one way: Android users will have a similar option on their side to transfer to iPhone. But those of us who update our iPhones to iOS 26.3 now have an easier escape route if we choose to switch platforms.

You can limit precise location sharing in iOS 26.3 (if you have Boost Mobile)

With iOS 26.3, Apple is giving some users the option to stop sharing their precise location with their cellular network providers. The new “Limit Precise Location” feature reduces the accuracy of location data shared with cellular networks. This way the network can determine your general location, but not your precise location. What this means in practical terms, at least according to Apple, is that the network can know what neighborhood you’re in, but not the exact address.

Currently, only Boost Mobile users in the United States will be able to use this feature with iOS 26.3. It also only works with select iOS devices, including the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and iPad Pro M5 Wi-Fi + Cellular. Hopefully this will make its way to more cellular plans and more iPhones in the future, but for now it’s a pretty limited feature. While most of us won’t be able to limit precise location sharing with the network, we can at least prevent apps from harvesting this data.

“Weather” and “Astronomy” have their own wallpaper section in iOS 26.3

Talk about a small update: With iOS 26.3, Apple splits “Weather” and “Astronomy” into their own wallpaper sections. (Previously, these two categories were combined.) While Astronomy offers the standard space wallpapers found in iOS 26.2 and earlier, Weather now offers three preset wallpapers, with different font options and weather widgets.

Transmission of notifications in the EU

Back in September, we learned that Apple was quietly working on some type of notification forwarding feature, but other than that basic feature, the details were left to speculation. At the time, the common assumption was that Apple wanted to use this feature to push notifications to third-party devices, particularly smartwatches, with the aim of opening up the platform to wearable devices other than the Apple Watch. This wouldn’t be Apple’s choice, of course: left to its own devices, the company would keep as many features locked to Apple devices as possible. The motivation would rather come from the EU, which forced Apple to make its platforms more cooperative with third-party devices.

As it turns out, this feature is now launching with iOS 26.3, but only in the EU (with the first beta of iOS 26.3, Apple added a “Notification Forwarding” option in the notification settings for all iPhones. They have since removed this option, as the feature is only available in the EU.) Although the option is not available at the moment, Apple has a description of how the feature works, stating that notifications can be forwarded to a device at the same time. times. It’s important to note that the description states that when notifications are transferred to another device, they will not appear on your Apple Watch. Is this limitation really necessary, Apple?

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EU iPhone users also get another cool feature with iOS 26.3. The new update will allow users to pair third-party accessories with their iPhones by bringing the devices together, similar to how pairing AirPods to iPhones works. Developers will of course need to add this feature to their devices before it works, but the new update makes it possible.

Bug fixes and security patches

Apple typically bundles its feature updates, like iOS 26.3, with stability fixes, especially for bugs and security vulnerabilities. This update is no different. Apple’s security notes for iOS 26.3 list 37 fixes for security vulnerabilities, covering issues on iOS. By far the largest fixes an issue with dyld, Apple’s “Dynamic Link Editor,” which Apple said could have been used in a “sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.” The company has used this language before, typically referring to attacks against high-level users from governments or large organizations. As such, most users will likely not be affected by this bug, but it’s better to be safe than sorry: update as soon as possible.

Other important security updates include a fix for a Photos bug that could allow someone to access your photos from the lock screen; a fix for a screenshot issue that could allow an attacker to see your deleted notes; a fix for a UIKit bug that could allow someone to take screenshots of sensitive data when using iPhone mirroring with Mac; and a fix for a VoiceOver bug that could allow an attacker to view sensitive information even when your iPhone is locked.