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Apple releases iOS 8.3, including new emojis with diversity, new Siri languages, more

iOS 8.3

Following the release of OS X 10.10.3 to the public, Apple has also released iOS 8.3 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The update, which has been in beta for several months, brings over 300 new emojis (including diversity options) as well as a new keyboard for inputting the symbols. The new keyboard features a scrolling UI, rather than the old page metaphor, to better accommodate the wider range of emojis available in the update.

iOS 8.3 also includes a whole host of new Siri languages, so more international users can benefit from Apple’s virtual personal assistant. The update adds Siri in Russian, Danish, Dutch, Thai, Swedish, Turkish and Portuguese. Siri’s voice has also been tweaked in this update.

Full change list included after the break:

There are also a lot of smaller changes, that no doubt some users will find helpful. For instance, Siri can now start calls on speakerphone if you ask it to do so. iOS 8.3 also includes new settings for changing how the iTunes Store asks for authentication, meaning users can optionally allow free apps to be downloaded with no password required.

The update also includes new filtering options in the Messages app. Toggling a preference in Settings adds a filter bar to the Messages app, which separates messages from unknown senders out of the main list. You can also report iMessages as junk, which will send a request off to Apple to review the message.

In addition, Apple released Xcode 6.3 with Swift 1.2 and an Apple Watch fix for apps that use continuous background location updates:

A bug where continuous background location updates fail to update has been resolved. If your Watch app relies on continuous background location updates to function, it is recommended that you update your WatchKit extension deployment target to iOS 8.3 and submit your app with Xcode 6.3.

iOS 8.3 was also notable because it was the first version of iOS to be released as a public beta. Apple is expected to do the same with iOS 9 in the summer.

Full release notes:

This release includes improved performance, bug fixes, and a redesigned Emoji keyboard. Changes include:
Improved performance for:
App launch
App responsiveness
Messages
Wi-Fi
Control Center
Safari tabs
3rd-party keyboards
Keyboard shortcuts
Simplified Chinese keyboard
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fixes
Fixes an issue where you could be continuously prompted for login credentials
Addresses an issue where some devices disconnect intermittently from Wi-Fi networks
Fixes an issue where hands-free phone calls could become disconnected
Fixes an issue where audio playback could stop working with some bluetooth speakers
Orientation and rotation fixes
Addresses an issue that sometimes prevented rotating back to portrait after having rotated to landscape
Improves performance and stability issues that occurred when rotating the device between portrait and landscape
Fixes an issue where device orientation appeared upside down after pulling the iPhone 6 Plus from your pocket
Resolves an issue that sometimes prevented apps from rotating to correct orientation after switching apps in multitasking
Messages fixes
Addresses issues that caused group messages to sometimes split
Fixes an issue that sometimes removed the ability to forward or delete individual messages
Resolves an issue that sometimes prevented a preview from appearing when taking a photo in Messages
Adds the ability to report junk messages directly from the Messages app
Adds the ability to filter out iMessages that are not sent by your contacts
Family Sharing fixes
Fixes a bug where certain apps would not launch or update on family members’ devices
Fixes a bug that prevented family members from downloading certain free apps
Increased reliability for Ask to Buy notifications
CarPlay fixes
Fixes an issue where Maps could come up as a black screen
Fixes an issue where the UI could be incorrectly rotated
Fixes an issue where the keyboard could appear on the CarPlay screen when it shouldn’t
Enterprise fixes
Improves reliability of installing and updating enterprise apps
Corrects the time zone of Calendar events created in IBM Notes
Fixes a problem that could cause web clip icons to become generic after restarting
Improves reliability of saving the password for a web proxy
Exchange out-of-office message can now be edited separately for external replies
Improves recovery of Exchange accounts from temporary connection problems
Improves compatibility of VPN and web proxy solutions
Allows use of physical keyboards to log into Safari web sheets, such as for joining a public Wi-Fi network
Fixes an issue that caused Exchange meetings with long notes to be truncated
Accessibility fixes
Fixes an issue where using the back button in Safari causes VoiceOver gestures to not respond
Fixes an issue where VoiceOver focus becomes unreliable in draft Mail messages
Fixes an issue where Braille Screen Input cannot be used to type text in forms on webpages
Fixes an issue where toggling Quick Nav on a Braille Display announces that Quick Nav is off
Fixes an issue keeping app icons from being moveable on home screen when VoiceOver is enabled
Fixes an issue in Speak Screen where speech will not start again after pausing
Other improvements and bug fixes
Introduces a redesigned Emoji keyboard with over 300 new characters
iCloud Photo Library has been optimized to work with the new Photos app on OS X 10.10.3 and is now out of beta
Improves the pronunciation of street names during turn-by-turn navigation in Maps
Includes support for Baum VarioUltra 20 and VarioUltra 40 braille displays
Improves the display of Spotlight results when Reduce Transparency is turned on
Adds Italic and Underline format options for iPhone 6 Plus landscape keyboard
Adds the ability to remove shipping and billing addresses used with Apple Pay
Additional language and country support for Siri: English (India, New Zealand), Danish (Denmark), Dutch (Netherlands), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian (Russia), Swedish (Sweden), Thai (Thailand), Turkish (Turkey)
Additional dictation languages: Arabic (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) and Hebrew (Israel)
Improves stability for Phone, Mail, Bluetooth connectivity, Photos, Safari tabs, Settings, Weather and Genius Playlists in Music
Addresses an issue where Slide to Unlock could fail to work on certain devices
Addresses an issue that sometimes prevented swiping to answer a phone call on the Lock screen
Addresses an issue that prevented opening links in Safari PDFs
Fixes an issue where selecting Clear History and Website Data in Safari Settings did not clear all data
Fixes an issue that prevented autocorrecting “FYI”
Addresses an issue where contextual predictions did not appear in Quick Reply
Fixes an issue where Maps did not enter night mode from hybrid mode
Resolves an issue that prevented initiating FaceTime calls from a browser or 3rd-party app using FaceTime URLs
Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented photos from properly exporting to Digital Camera Image folders on Windows
Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented an iPad backup from completing with iTunes
Fixes an issue that could cause Podcast downloads to stall when switching from Wi-Fi to cellular networks
Fixes an issue where remaining time on timer would sometimes incorrectly display as 00:00 on Lock screen
Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented adjusting call volume

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Comments

  1. “iOS 8.3 was also notable because it was the first version of iOS to be released as a public beta. Apple is expected to do the same with iOS 9 in the summer.”

    Is Apple going to do the same with iOS 8.4?

    • john (@johnkeller101) - 9 years ago

      8.4 might not happen, it just depends. I think they will push the contents of 8.4 to iOS 9.

      • From my understanding, iOS 8.4 introduces the new Beats Music streaming service

      • There will be an iOS 8.4, because iOS 9 won’t be out until September… We will still get a big update before September, you know bug fixes like this update, so iOS 8.4…

      • chrisl84 - 9 years ago

        Apple will likely want an 8.4 to get Beats onto the old 4S models that are still out there.

  2. Alex Yamil - 9 years ago

    HOLY! Thats a lot of fixes

    • Andrew Messenger - 9 years ago

      While it lists rotation/orientation fixes for the 6 plus, they certainly did not work on my device. Still opening in landscape sometimes.

      • jordanshow - 9 years ago

        Well at least they fixed the video rotation/orientation problem.

  3. mariobros27772 - 9 years ago

    I keep getting an update failed to download… Anyone else experiencing the issue? I was using the public beta

  4. Will Iam Britton - 9 years ago

    Wow this looks like a pretty big update

  5. iOS 8.3 doesn’t seem to be available yet in Canada. Do you know anything about non-US releases?

  6. Doesn’t look like the “password settings” to enable not needing a password on free apps made it to the public release..can’t find it..

    • tdgeditor1 - 9 years ago

      If you have a touch ID iDevice, this option doesn’t exist. Which is what I think.

    • go in settings -> itunes -> password settings-> Free Download Require password turn it off

    • I looked for that option in settings as well but did not find it. However, after you download a “GET” app, it will ask you to remember password for free apps. Just say yes. It worked. I have 5S.

    • Mike Beasley - 9 years ago

      You have to disable Touch ID for app purchases. If Touch ID is enabled it won’t show up.

      • Morac - 9 years ago

        That’s odd since after making my first free purchase with Touch ID enabled, I got asked if I want to always be prompted for my password or prompt once every 15 minutes. It said I could change this in settings, so I chose “Always”. Now the iTunes & App Store settings has text that says “Touch ID is enabled for all purchases”, but no way to change it.

        Why ask in the first place?

    • Jake Jacobs - 9 years ago

      If Touch ID is enabled for iTunes and App Store, the option will not be available. If you disable it, you’ll get the option.

  7. Odys (@twittester10) - 9 years ago

    Why the pic says the size is 1.4 GB – mine says 285 MB

    • Ravi Chowdhury - 9 years ago

      Probably the person taking the screen shot might be on iOS 7

    • 89p13 - 9 years ago

      Mine said 291 MB – was running 8.2 and it’s downloading OTA as I type.

    • 1nf3cted - 9 years ago

      My iPhone 6 says it is 1.4 Gb, and I am running the 8.3 beta. It must be that it downloads the full build of iOS 8.3, because the beta builds are separate from the public builds, and thus cannot just have the updated content added on to it.

  8. Martin Richards - 9 years ago

    U.K. Has it, worked first time for me and I am also running Beta version.

  9. AirDJ31 - 9 years ago

    Didn’t addresses the broken music app where songs were tagged incorrectly and some albums were missing album covers. Infuriating. Too caught up on the damn watch and the beats radio stream thing.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

      That kinda makes sense but It’s not like they haven’t been doing stuff. Look at that long list of fixes. Have you tried calling apple support and making your way to a higher support manager?

      They followed up with me on an issue all the way through to engineers contacting me with profiles specifically to monitor my issue. They just called me back saying they’ve recognized the issue now and it will be fixed in the next release. It just happened yesterday so I feel like maybe they mean 8.4

      • AirDJ31 - 9 years ago

        Hmm, might just have to do this. Thanks.

  10. I still find it pathetic they haven’t added Spanish as a language…

  11. Updated OTA and I don’t see the “300 NEW Emoji’s”.

  12. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

    holy cow. That’s a lot of issues resolved. Can’t wait for 8.4!

  13. Thats a hell lot of fixes.My update size was just 281 mb from 8.2

  14. Yamoah Augustus - 9 years ago

    Ghana has it.

  15. Magnus Kahr Jensen - 9 years ago

    Why is all emojis a stupid yellow color? give me an option to set the typical color of them all, i dont gonna change it one by one…

    • Andrew Messenger - 9 years ago

      it remembers what one you used last.

      • o0smoothies0o - 9 years ago

        Yes but you have to manually change each one.

      • Andrew Messenger - 9 years ago

        no. you just need to use the one you want the first time and then forget about it until you need to use a different one. it’s really not that cumbersome.

    • kjl3000 - 9 years ago

      Yes, very annoying… Or is there an option for setting preferred skin tones for all emojis at once? I couldn’t find one… 👉👉🏻👉🏼👉🏽👉🏾👉🏿 Apple feedback.

  16. o0smoothies0o - 9 years ago

    They changed the Clock app design slightly, the hands look thinner

  17. jeffreyv1987 - 9 years ago

    Still got poor WiFi but it doesn’t go to LTE as much.. hmmm

  18. crichton007 - 9 years ago

    Does anyone know how to get to the new emojis? I’ve looked on my iPhone and iPad but can’t seem to figure out how to get the different skin colors.

  19. I downloaded the update, had to delete my music for space no problem, update my 5s and now there is 4+ gb of memory in the other section :/ restoring my phone doesn’t even fix it…..

  20. I noticed one odd thing today after the update. While my phone had vibrate setting on, I answered a call and it continued to vibrate. The other person couldn’t hear me and even after I hung up the call, it continued to vibrate. I had to shut down and restart. Weird!!

  21. darkenv2 - 9 years ago

    Talk about perfect timing. Just had my AppRadio 4 with CarPlay installed today and I get wireless CarPlay now haha. I’m so glad they fixed the stupid period and space button issue for the iPhone 6 Plus, that annoyed me for the longest time.

  22. Morac - 9 years ago

    Is anyone else seeing the wrong storage usage in iTunes 12.1.1 (Windows) after updating to iOS 8.3? iTunes is now reporting widely inaccurate free space as well as usage.

    What’s odd is that if I do a hard reset of my iPhone (5s) and then connect to iTunes, the correct storage and free space will display for about 15 seconds after which it will update to wrong values. That persists until another hard reset. Simply restarting the phone or iTunes won’t show the correct values.

  23. emucillo - 9 years ago

    Reblogged this on .

  24. petrenk0n - 9 years ago

    On my iPhone Touch ID doesn’t work in App Store, it always asks for the password. I checked, everything in settings is on. Does anyone have the same problem?

  25. Jason Boyce - 9 years ago

    has anyone gotten wireless carplay to work? I don’t see an option for it

  26. Jessica (@Yessicar1Li) - 9 years ago

    Would this update be available on my IPod Touch 4th generation?

  27. Liam Deckham - 9 years ago

    Has anyone noticed their camera roll being out of chronological order after the 8.3 update? Also, anyone notice a ton of extra free space from photos taking up less space? I do not have iCloud photos on. They are all stored locally.

  28. Anyone else having issues with their camera roll uploading to iCloud? I updated to 8.3 and turned on iCloud photo library, and it says 2,500 to upload, but it’s been that way for an hour now. Anyone know what this crap is? Is it analyzing the library first? I’m getting impatient! :)

    • Benjamin Mayo - 9 years ago

      Your photos will upload in time. The phone may choose not to upload pictures if you have low battery / on cellular. If you are still having problems, plug your device in to power and remain connected to WiFi.

  29. Amariz Zamora - 9 years ago

    My safari is taking forever to load with this new update. If I click on a bookmark, it’ll take forever. And when I try to type something into the address bar and press go, it doesn’t do anything. :| This update is pissing me off. The new emojis weren’t worth this trouble in safari.

  30. Alayna Kay Zielinski - 9 years ago

    I downloaded the new update from my iphone 6,and after it appeared to update i got a message to plug my phone into itunes and now my screen is frozen like that even after plugging into itunes? my phone is completely not working now.

    • katandcat_kitty - 9 years ago

      i know this happened to me. this is happens when the update failed and its called recovery mode. it happend to me when i touched the charger while updating so you have to plug in your iPhone to a computer and iTunes will open and an alert will pop up saying recovery mode is has been connected. your only choice is to restore the phone so if you have never backed up your phone then mostly all your contacts and apps will be deleted so if you didn’t back up your phone next time remember to back up your phone and also do not touch the charger while your phone is updating

  31. New emoji keyboard memes just for fun!

  32. Adrian Piotrowski - 9 years ago

    After update from iOS 8.2 to iOS 8.3 on my iPad 2 there is activation error same one as after installation of beta version but it was not beta. HELP!

  33. Troy Zarate De Leon - 9 years ago

    One welcome update is that it reduced my other size to 783.MB from @2.8GB =)

  34. Dheena Aspirant - 9 years ago

    Is it true??? i’m having ios 8.2 in my iPhone 6 and for updating to 8.3 it showed just 285 MB. But when i updated through OTA it used 1.4gb to update. can anyone explain the reason??? Does it really take 285MB????

  35. eladiogomes - 9 years ago

    After running the update my screen became gigantic, I can’t use the phone anymore! Please any suggestion is welcomed!

    Here’s a link to see it!
    http://gomesfineart.apps-1and1.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MyPhoneAfterUpdate.jpg

    Thanks!

    • eladiogomes - 9 years ago

      Never mind, mo zoom was turned on and apparently I 3 fingers tapped it accidentally… Still frustrating… But no issue.

    • katandcat_kitty - 9 years ago

      i think you might have enabled zoom in setting so try pressing the home button 3 times and it might be fixed

  36. priyank02 - 9 years ago

    Can iOS 8.3 be jainbroken ?
    Only if it can be, I find it appropriate to update.

  37. Raptor Kwok - 9 years ago

    iOS 8.3 disables Mac Apps such as iTools & iFunbox to access App document contents. #facepalm

  38. CMarsee Croom - 9 years ago

    With the new update, when I am on a webmail page in Safari, I cannot delete, move nor block messages. All I can do is read them. SMH

  39. Avi Zakay - 9 years ago

    I have iPhone 4S .if i download the new update i will lose something on my phone ?

  40. Christine McCloskey - 9 years ago

    I’m hitting myself for downloading 8.3 – While I can access App Store – Apps won’t update or download….they’re stuck in ‘waiting’ mode.

  41. Lisa McAfee Hunt - 9 years ago

    I cannot toggle off cellular data usage for individual apps, when I do it automatically turns it back on when I leave the settings page….any help? BTW… I have tried turning to airplane mode for 30 seconds & have restarted several times. Ugh…. Everything is on cellular all the time or everything is off, no ,idle ground.

    • Lisa McAfee Hunt - 9 years ago

      I am having to delete and re-load each app that will not update & that is also fixing the “use cellular data” toggle issue….little bit of a pain, just glad it is fixed…three more apps to delete/reload

  42. Ramesh Shrestha - 9 years ago

    i had my worst idea since the update of my devices to Ios 8.2 my rear camera is not working black or blurry screen in photo mode- sometimes it works in vedio mode, when it is not in black screen mode i’ve installed another camera app….. it just fine 2. if power off – it would not restart ( i managed to make it work restarting it in recovery mode) and again i update ios 8.3 thinking it may fix the problem again same problem PLZ GIVE ME THE SOLUTION APPLE???????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  43. Alexander (@rhcp_alex) - 9 years ago

    iOS 8.3 keeps restarting my iPhone 5C. I reset it, even got a new phone from the apple store because at some point it didn’t start anymore at all, and the problem continues on the new phone. does anyone have the same problem?

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.