Apple devs are in for a treat, as the Cupertino giant has today released fresh codes for all of its software platforms, across devices — which also includes tvOS and watchOS.
The betas released today include iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2, watchOS 2.2 and OS X 10.11.4, which mark the first pre-release betas of those versions of Apple’s biggest software. Apart from these major league players, fresh betas for Apple Configurator 2.2 and Xcode 7.3 have also been released.
While these betas have a lot of improvements to talk about (which you can go through in detail by downloading the updates yourself), the more stand out features in these software platforms include Night Shift mode and secured notes, and multi-user support on iPads in the iOS 9.3, multiple pairing support in watchOS and support for pairing Bluetooth keyboards, along with the ability to move apps into folders on the homescreen in tvOS. Lets get to each one of them, one by one.
iOS 9.3
The biggest update to iOS’ latest iteration is the Night Shift mode. Night Shift uses your iOS device’s clock and geolocation to determine when it’s sunset in your location. Then it automatically shifts the colors in your display to the warmer end of the spectrum, making it easier on your eyes. In the morning, it returns the display to its regular settings.
Another notable edition is secured notes. With fresh iOS 9.3 beta, you can now secure the notes that contain your most personal data — such as financial details, medical info, or website logins — with a password or fingerprint. Additionally, you can also sort notes by date created, date modified, or alphabetically.
iOS 9.3 also brings in a more personalised experience on Apple’s News app. The articles in For You are now better tailored to your particular interests. And to help you discover new Favorites, For You suggests trending topics and Editors’ Picks. When a story contains video, you can play it right from your feed. On your iPhone, you can view everything in landscape.
CarPlay is also getting more functional with this latest iOS 9.3 update. New and For You from Apple Music — with songs, artists, and albums handpicked by experts, plus selections based on your preferences— are now available at hand on your screen. And the Nearby feature in Maps lets you find gas, parking, restaurants, coffee, and more with a tap.
The iOS 9.3 also has an education preview, under which Apple is offering student iPad owners some added features, most notable of them all being support for multiple users.
watchOS 2.2
Perhaps the biggest update that came along with watchOS is the ability to pair multiple Apple Watches to a single iPhone, which of course requires iOS to be also running iOS 9.3. And similar to iOS, watchOS too is getting some handsome updates in Maps.
For example, watchOS now offers quick directions to a location, the ability perform searches, and the ability to view nearby points of interest.
Another notable update is purely for developers. watchOS is now getting Core Text framework, thus allowing devs to build more visually appealing, dynamic and graphics intensive apps. The Core Text framework allows for complex text layout and rendering graphics contexts, and includes an upgrade to the HealthKit framework, which now includes a summary of the user’s activity for the day.
tvOS 9.2
With fresh release coming in, tvOS too has got some much needed features. These include support for pairing Bluetooth keyboards, the ability to move apps into folders on the homescreen, a new App Switcher interface, and its own Podcasts app.
OS X 10.11.4 (El Capitan)
As for OS X, it carries the build number 15E27e, while OS X Server 5.1 is build 15S5058. Finally, Xcode 7.3 is build 7D111g, and Apple Configurator 2.2 is build 3C19.
This is more of an incremental release — meaning that it contains a lot of bug fixes, found in previous versions. There are no new, added features as of now.
Adding more to this…
