Apple Officially Seeds Beta 2 Versions of iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2, and tvOS 10.2 to Developers

Apple Officially Seeds Beta 2 Versions of iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2, and tvOS 10.2 to Developers
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Apple on Monday seeded second beta versions of iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2 and tvOS 10.2 to registered developers, just weeks after the initial beta releases of each operating system.

Some of the major updates in iOS 10.3 include a new Find My AirPods feature, which will help owners of Apple’s wireless Bluetooth earbuds find lost a AirPod, as well as an updated reviews API that limits how often app developers can ask users to submit ratings. Apple also added other App Store updates in iOS 10.3 beta 1, including a system so users can rank reviews as “Helpful” or “Not Helpful.” Similarly, developers are now able to respond to user reviews for the first time.

Additionally, installing iOS 10.3 will update the iPhone’s file system to a new Apple File System (APFS), which is optimized for Flash and SSD storage and carries other features such as space sharing and stronger encryption, according to Apple’s release notes.

As far as Apple’s other operating systems, watchOS 3.2 adds a Theater Mode that tweaks the Watch’s display to be more suitable for movie theaters, as well as SiriKit support so third-party developers can add additional Siri functionality to apps. The tvOS 10.2 update reportedly improves scrolling behavior and adds Device Enrollment Program and VideoToolBox framework support, according to Apple’s release notes.

Along with these updates, Monday’s iOS 10.3 beta 2 adds a “Learn More” button for its 32-bit app alert and WiFi calling for UK carrier Three.

Updated release notes for watchOS 3.2 beta 2 and tvOS 10.2 beta 2 weren’t readily available as of the writing of this article.

It’s also worth noting that a new macOS 10.12.4 beta was missing from Monday’s volley of updates.

Registered Apple developers can now install the new beta versions from the developer portal on Apple’s website.

The full release notes for each update are available below.

iOS 10.3 Beta Release Notes

Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone now supports Location and Play Sound for AirPods.

  • Location and Play Sound currently work only from the iOS device most recently used with your AirPods.
  • Play Sound emits a noise from the AirPods that reaches a high volume after a few seconds. Please remove both AirPods from your ears before testing this feature.

iCloud Analytics

During setup, users reach the “iCloud Analytics” page even if they have not yet logged into an iCloud account.

iCloud Backup

Nightly backups may fail with the error message “Some files were unavailable during the last backup.” To work around this issue, please ensure that your device remains unlocked for the entire duration of the backup.

Lightning Video Adapters

Lightning video adapters may not work as expected in this beta.

Managed and Shared Devices

  • The ability to update devices from a remote server is in development and may not yet work as expected.
  • On managed devices, users can override the current iCloud Document Sync setting.
  • In this beta, Shared iPad allows users to toggle settings that are usually unavailable when using a Shared iPad.

SiriKit

The new SiriKit car commands are still in development and may not yet work as expected.

SOS

SOS is only supported in India.

WebKit

Safari now supports the prefers-reduced-motion media query. This query allows a web developer to provide alternate page styles for users who are sensitive to large areas of motion. Users can change their preference for reduced motion in the Accessibility section of System Preferences.

The iOS 10.3 update removes support for SHA-1 signed certificates used for Transport Layer Security (TLS) in Safari and WebKit that are issued from a root Certification Authority (CA) included in the operating system default trust store. All other TLS connections will continue to support SHA-1 signed certificates until late 2017. SHA-1 signed root CA certificates, enterprise distributed SHA-1 certificates, and user-installed SHA-1 certificates are not affected by this change. For more information, see https://support.apple.com/kb/HT207459.

Xcode Simulator

  • Attempting to enable iCloud Drive through the iCloud Drive app before the user is signed into iCloud can cause Settings to crash.
  • The iCloud button in Settings does not do anything when clicked.
  • Scrolling in the Today View is known to cause occasional crashes in this beta.

watchOS 3.2 Beta Release Notes

Theater Mode

Introduced in watchOS 3.2, Theater Mode lets users quickly mute the sound on their Apple Watch and avoid waking the screen on wrist raise. Users still receive notifications (including haptics) while in Theater Mode, which they can view by tapping the screen or pressing the Digital Crown.

SiriKit

watchOS 3.2 includes SiriKit. Users can ask Siri on their Apple Watch to book a ride, send a message, make a payment, or make other requests that your app can handle.

Apps that provide services in specific domains can use SiriKit to make those services available through Siri on watchOS. Making your services available requires creating one or more app extensions using the Intents and Intents UI frameworks. SiriKit in watchOS supports services in the following domains:

  • Messaging
  • Payments
  • Ride booking
  • Workouts
  • Calling
  • Searching photos

tvOS 10.2 Beta Release Notes

tvOS 10.2 includes includes new features, bug fixes, and improvements in the OS and SDK including:

  • Accelerated Scrolling support for UIKit and TVMLKit apps
  • Device Enrollment Program support
  • Expanded Mobile Device Management support
  • Support for the VideoToolbox framework
Featured Image: Bandageek / Apple
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