iOS 17.3 release notes list all the new features and improvements coming to your iPhone, like Stolen Device Protection, Apple Music playlist collaboration, etc.
iOS 17.3 brings the new Stolen Device Protection security feature, designed to thwart attacks reported by The Wall Street Journal where thieves obtain your passcode and use it to lock you out of your Apple ID and access your money and data.
When enabled, biometric authentication and your passcode are required to perform critical system actions such as accessing or changing passwords.
Release notes: New iPhone features in iOS 17.3
The complete iOS 17.3 release notes are pasted below. The same changelog can be viewed on Apple’s page detailing changes in the iOS 17 software updates.
This update introduces additional security measures with Stolen Device Protection. This release also includes a new Unity wallpaper to honor Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month, as well as other features, bug fixes and security updates for your iPhone.
Stolen Device Protection
● Stolen Device Protection increases security of iPhone and Apple ID by requiring Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback to perform certain actions
● Security Delay requires Face ID or Touch ID, an hour wait and then an additional successful biometric authentication before sensitive operations like changing device passcode or Apple ID password can be performed
Lock Screen
● New Unity wallpaper honors Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month
Music
● Collaborate on playlists allows you to invite friends to join your playlist and everyone can add, reorder and remove songs
● Emoji reactions can be added to any track in a collaborative playlist
Some features may be restricted to specific countries or languages. Apple’s iOS Feature Availability page lists features available in particular countries.
iOS 17.3 security patches and fixes
● AirPlay hotel support lets you stream content directly to the TV in your room in select hotels
● AppleCare & Warranty in Settings shows your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID
● Crash detection optimizations (all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models)
This Apple page details the contents of the security patches included in iOS 17.3. Importantly, the update squishes over a doze bug, including a pair of WebKit vulnerabilities that Appel says may have been exploited in the wild.
macOS Sonoma 14.3 and other Apple updates
Aside from iOS 17.3, the iPhone maker on January 23, 2024, also unleashed iPadOS 17.3 with the same features as iOS 17.3 sans Stolen Device Protection.
With macOS Sonoma 14.3, you get Apple Music playlist collaboration and an expanded warranty coverage section in System Settings. In addition, watchOS 10.3 will launch with support for the new Unity Bloom watch face.
Lastly, updates for the HomePod and HomePod mini bring their OS version number to 17.3, but don’t expect new features. “This update includes performance and stability improvements,” according to Apple’s description of the update.
In the same vein, tvOS 17.3 is just a maintenance update focused on bug fixes.