iOS 17.3: All new features, improvements, and release date (it's out!)

Update: iOS 17.3 has been released with Stolen Device Protection and collaborative Apple Music playlists.

As far as minor iOS updates go, it's usually challenging to give a specific release date, but based on our expectations, iOS 17.3 could be released sometime in late January or possibly early February.

Previously, Apple had pulled the latest iOS 17.3 beta 2 because it made iPhones that have the Back Tap feature set up and enabled to get stuck into bootloop (not a very desirable outcome even for beta testers). No matter if you had the Double Tap or the Triple Tap feature set up, you'd always end up in a bootloop, renderring your phone unusable. This issue once again goes to show that beta software is quite unstable and can easily lead to problems for your device, yet Apple should have known better anyways.

You can pull yourself by the bootstraps is to roll back to a previous iOS version like iOS 17.3 beta 1 or iOS 17.2.1, provided that you have a recent backup available to restore your data and apps (you always should have one).

As of mid-January, the iOS 17.3 beta 2 issue has seemingly been fixed, with the beta update once again available for all to download and use. It seems safe and issue-free, for the most part. 

It seems that Apple is gearing towards launching iOS 17.3 in the week of January 22-26. This was unraveled in a footnote inside an Apple Newsroom story about the upcoming release of the Unity Bloom iPhone and iPad wallpaper which seemingly requires iOS 17.3 to install.

This new feature will be adding a slew of protection layers to iOS which will make it harder for wrongdoers to change essential security settings. Enabling the feature will require a positive biometric authentication when you're attempting to change your iCloud password, turn off Lost Mode, or erase an iPhone when at an unfamiliar location. 

This is done so that thieves who have somehow obtained both your iPhone and your passcode can't completely lock you out of your device. 

Enabling Stolen Device Protection is as simple as flipping a switch by going to Settings > Face ID & Passcode and flicking the respective switch to enable Stolen Device Protection. Disabling it, however, logically requires a successful Face ID authentication, so that even if the thieves are familiar with the new feature, they wouldn't be able to disable it. 

Collaborative playlists that allow multiple people to edit public Apple Music playlists is missing from the official iOS 17.2 release, having been promised as a new feature. However, the first iOS 17.3 beta includes the upcoming Apple Music functionality and will hopefully this time make it to the final release. The ill-fated iOS 17.3 beta 2 also featured collaborative playlists, indicating that these are on their merry way.

This feature, which was postponed after being deleted from iOS 17.2, lets friends contribute to the creation of a playlist for your Apple Music account by enabling them to add, remove, and rearrange the songs on the list. The Now Playing interface also allows users to respond to song selections using emojis, which is so 2024.