iOS 10.3 Beta 7 Suggests Official Release Is Imminent

Apple seeded the seventh beta version of iOS 10.3 to developers and public beta testers late last week, just three days after the company rolled out iOS 10.3 beta 6.

The seemingly rapid-fire release of iOS beta version in the last couple weeks could hint that a final version of iOS 10.3 is right around the corner. As further evidence that the official release is looming, most users have reported virtually no front-facing additions or visual changes since beta 7’s release on March 16. That’s not atypical of Apple’s beta testing process — as the closer it gets to the official rollout, the less likely Cupertino is to make subtle UI tweaks. To back up its nearing release even further, the official release notes for the iOS 10.3 beta 7 are identical to the notes released alongside beta 6 — suggesting that the seventh beta is an incremental update with under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements.

iOS 10.3 is a major update to Apple’s mobile operating system. Chief among the changes is a new Find My AirPods feature, which will allow users to find a single or pair of lost earbuds. Another major change is the switch to an upgraded Apple File System (APFS), which optimizes the iOS file system for Flash and SSD, and has an increased focus security and encryption. iOS 10.3 also adds additional information about the upcoming end of 32-bit app support, and makes a variety of changes to the App Store — including an updated reviews API that limits the amount of times that an app can ask its users to rate or review it. iOS 10.3 also allows developers to respond to user reviews for the first time, and lets users rank reviews as “Helpful” or “Not Helpful.”

iOS 10.3 beta 7 is currently available as an over-the-air update for registered Apple developers and public beta testers, as well as through the portal for each program.