It’s been in the works for a while now, but the next big update for Apple’s iOS 14 is finally here. Please welcome iOS 14.3 (and iPadOS 14.3).
Apple on Monday officially launched both iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3 to the public. This is a pretty big update for the mobile operating systems, welcoming new features to the mix for both the iPhone and iPad lineups. The new software update is free, and it’s available to download and install now.
To install on your iPhone and/or iPad, simply open Settings –> General –> Software Update and follow the onscreen instructions. If you have Automatic Updates turned on, then your supported device(s) will automatically download the update, and then install the new software overnight while your device is charging.
The new software is available now. So let’s take a quick look at what’s new.
What’s new in iOS 14.3
You can find the full changelogs for both iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3 at the bottom of this post, if you want the full breakdown for what’s new for both platforms. But the major updates are for iOS 14.3, so you can take a quick glance at what Apple brought to the table with the new software just below.
Apple ProRAW
This new feature is an image format that Apple hopes will give photographers even more creative control over the photographs they capture with the iPhone 12 Pro and/or the iPhone 12 Pro Max. In short, with Apple ProRAW image format, it captures photos with both Apple’s impressive computational smarts, but also the raw sensor data. It’s the latter that offers even more customization options for those interested in that sort of thing.
Apple’s own Senior Manager of Camera Software Engineering, Deshpande, had this to say on the feature earlier this year:
In order to achieve this, we constructed a new pipeline that takes components of the processing we do in our CPU, GPU, ISP and neural engine, and combines them into a new deep image file, computed at the time of capture, without any shutter delay. And we do this for all four cameras, dynamically adapting for various scenes while maintaining our intuitive camera experience.
iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max owners will be able to share ProRAW images directly from the Apple Photos app, too. To enable this feature, open Settings –> Camera –> Formats, and toggle on Apple ProRAW.
Apple Fitness+
Earlier this year, Apple unveiled its newest subscription service: Fitness+. It’s designed around the Apple Watch, and the smartwatch is a requirement to use the new service. But, if you have an Apple Watch and want a subscription service designed to help you stay healthy and fit, then Fitness+ might be just for you.
Fitness+ costs $9.99 per month, or $79.99 per year. For folks who already own an Apple Watch, they’ll get one month free. And for anyone who buys an Apple Watch now that Fitness+ is available, they’ll get three months free. And Fitness+ supports Apple’s Family Sharing, so you can share the service with up to five other people.
Fitness+ supports a variety of workouts and exercises, including HIIT, treadmill run/walk, yoga, dance, rowing, core, cycling, and many others. There are new workouts uploaded to the service every week. The service will recommend new exercises and trainers based on what you’ve trained with previously. And, finally, Apple Music is integrated directly into Fitness+, letting users choose the type of music they want to listen to while they work out.
The rest
Those two elements above are the mainstays for iOS 14.3 at this point. However, the new software welcomes a few other important additions.
- Support for Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Amazon Luna wireless controllers
- Launching custom app icons from the Home Screen no longer launches the Shortcuts app
- Apple Music now supports animated album artwork
- Apple’s latest software officially supports the new AirPods Max, which launch on December 15.
The changelogs
Here’s the official changelog for iOS 14.3:
iOS 14.3 includes support for Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max. This release also adds the ability to capture photos in Apple ProRAW on iPhone 12 Pro, introduces Privacy information on the App Store, and includes other features and bug fixes for your iPhone.
Apple Fitness+
- A new fitness experience powered by Apple Watch with studio-style workouts available on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV (Apple Watch Series 3 and later)
- New Fitness app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV to browse Fitness+ workouts, trainers, and personalized recommendations
- Video workouts added each week in ten popular workout types: High Intensity Interval Training, Indoor Cycling, Yoga, Core, Strength, Dance, Rowing, Treadmill Walking, Treadmill Running, and Mindful Cooldown
- Playlists curated by Fitness+ trainers to complement your workout
- Fitness+ subscription available in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States
AirPods Max
- Support for AirPods Max, new over-ear headphones
- High fidelity audio for rich sound
- Adaptive EQ adapts sound in real time to the personal fit of ear cushions
- Active Noise Cancellation to block out environmental noise
- Transparency mode to hear the environment around you
- Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking for a theater-like listening experience
Photos
- Apple ProRAW photos can be captured on iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
- Apple ProRAW photos can be edited in the Photos app
- Option to record video at 25 fps
- Mirror the front facing camera for still photos on iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X
Privacy
- New privacy information section on App Store pages that includes a developer-reported summary of the app’s privacy practices
TV app
- An all-new Apple TV+ tab makes it easy to discover and watch Apple Original shows and movies
- Enhanced search so you can browse by category such as genre, and see recent searches and suggestions as you type
- Top search results shown with the most relevant matches across movies, TV shows, cast, channels, and sports
App Clips
- Support for launching App Clips by scanning Apple-designed App Clip Codes via Camera or from Control Center
Health
- Ability to indicate pregnancy, lactation, or contraceptive use in Cycle Tracking in the Health app in order to better manage period and fertile window predictions
Weather
- Air quality data is now available in Weather, Maps, and Siri for locations in China mainland
- Air quality health recommendations are provided in Weather and Siri for the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, and Mexico at certain air quality levels
Safari
- Ecosia search engine option in Safari
This release also addresses the following issues:
- Some MMS messages may not be received
- Some Messages notifications may not be received
- Contact groups failed to display members when composing a message
- Some videos would not appear correctly when shared from the Photos app
- App folders may fail to open
- Spotlight search results, and opening apps from Spotlight may not work
- Bluetooth could be unavailable in Settings
- Devices could be prevented from charging wirelessly
- MagSafe Duo Charger could wirelessly charge your iPhone at less than the maximum power
- Wireless accessories and peripherals using the WAC protocol could fail to complete setup
- The keyboard would dismiss when adding a list in Reminders while using VoiceOver
Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
And here is the changelog for iPadOS 14.3:
iPadOS 14.3 includes support for Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max. This release also introduces Privacy information on the App Store, and includes other features and bug fixes for your iPad.
Apple Fitness+
- A new fitness experience powered by Apple Watch with studio-style workouts available on your iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV (Apple Watch Series 3 and later)
- New Fitness app on iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV to browse Fitness+ workouts, trainers, and personalized recommendations
- Video workouts added each week in ten popular workout types: High Intensity Interval Training, Indoor Cycling, Yoga, Core, Strength, Dance, Rowing, Treadmill Walking, Treadmill Running, and Mindful Cooldown
- Playlists curated by Fitness+ trainers to complement your workout
- Fitness+ subscription available in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States
AirPods Max
- Support for AirPods Max, new over-ear headphones
- High fidelity audio for rich sound
- Adaptive EQ adapts sound in real time to the personal fit of ear cushions
- Active Noise Cancellation to block out environmental noise
- Transparency mode to hear the environment around you
- Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking for a theater-like listening experience
Photos
- Apple ProRAW photos can be edited in the Photos app
- Option to record video at 25 fps
- Mirror the front facing camera for still photos on iPad Pro (1st and 2nd Gen), iPad (5th Gen and later), iPad mini 4, iPad Air 2
Privacy
- New privacy information section on App Store pages that includes a developer-reported summary of the app’s privacy practices
TV app
- An all-new Apple TV+ tab makes it easy to discover and watch Apple Original shows and movies
- Enhanced search so you can browse by category such as genre, and see recent searches and suggestions as you type
- Top search results shown with the most relevant matches across movies, TV shows, cast, channels, and sports
App Clips
- Support for launching App Clips by scanning Apple-designed App Clip Codes via Camera or from Control Center
Air quality
- Available in Maps and Siri for locations in China mainland
- Health recommendations are provided in Siri for the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, and Mexico at certain air quality levels
Safari
- Ecosia search engine option in Safari
This release also addresses the following issues:
- Some Messages notifications may not be received
- App folders may fail to open
- Spotlight search results, and opening apps from Spotlight may not work
- Contact groups failed to display members when composing a message
- Bluetooth could be unavailable in Settings
- Wireless accessories and peripherals using the WAC protocol could fail to complete setup
- The keyboard would dismiss when adding a list in Reminders while using VoiceOver
Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
Are you looking forward to trying out the new elements Apple added to iOS 14.3?