{"id":287636,"date":"2026-02-12T14:09:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/287636\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:09:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:09:14","slug":"ios-26-3-features-everything-new-in-ios-26-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/287636\/","title":{"rendered":"iOS 26.3 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Apple released iOS 26.3 today, and while it doesn&#8217;t have as many features as iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2, there are still a couple of new additions worth knowing about.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iOS-26.3-Feature.jpg\"   alt=\"iOS 26\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1406\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1029939\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Transfer to Android<\/p>\n<p>Apple is making it easier for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/guide\/iphone\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iPhone<\/a> users to transition to an Android smartphone in iOS 26.3, introducing a new transfer tool that lets an \u200ciPhone\u200c user place their device next to an Android device to initiate a transfer process.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1030192 lazyload\" alt=\"ios 26 3 android transfer\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ios-26-3-android-transfer.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>With the two smartphones connected, users can opt to move over photos, messages, notes, apps, passwords, phone number, and more. Data transfers occur with no need to download and use a separate app, making the process simpler.<\/p>\n<p>Health data, devices paired with Bluetooth, and protected items like locked notes are not transferred over to the new device. Google has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2025\/12\/08\/iphone-android-switching-improvements\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">also implemented<\/a> a similar feature for transferring data from an Android to an \u200ciPhone\u200c, so it is a two-way process between the two platforms.<\/p>\n<p>Weather Wallpaper<\/p>\n<p>There is a new Weather wallpaper section in the Lock Screen customization options. Previously, Apple had a combined section for Weather and Astronomy, but Weather was split out into its own category.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1030238 lazyload\" alt=\"ios 26 3 weather\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ios-26-3-weather.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>There are now three pre-designed Weather wallpapers with different fonts for the time and different weather widgets to give users a better idea of how the Weather wallpaper can be used.<\/p>\n<p>Limit Precise Location<\/p>\n<p>iOS 26.3 includes a setting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2026\/01\/26\/ios-26-3-limit-precise-location\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">limit carrier location tracking<\/a> for carriers that add support for the feature. It&#8217;s an option that only works with the C1 and C1X modems, which are in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/roundup\/iphone-16e\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iPhone 16e<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/roundup\/iphone-air\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iPhone Air<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1012692 lazyload\" alt=\"iOS 26 Phone App Features\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/iOS-26-Phone-App-Features.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>Mobile networks determine location based on the cellular towers that a device connects to, but with the setting enabled, some of the data typically made available to mobile networks will be restricted. Rather than being able to see location down to a street address, carriers will instead be limited to the neighborhood where a device is located, for example.<\/p>\n<p>In the United States, only Boost Mobile is supporting the feature as of now. EE and BT in the UK offer it, as does Telekom in Germany and AIS and True in Thailand.<\/p>\n<p>You can enable the setting on a compatible device by opening the Settings app, tapping on your cellular service, tapping on Mobile Data Options, and then toggling on Limit Precise Location. You&#8217;ll need to restart your device when turning the setting on or off.<\/p>\n<p>Signs of M5 Chips<\/p>\n<p>The iOS 26.3 release candidate featured references to unreleased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2026\/02\/04\/new-m5-chips-ios-26-3-beta\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips<\/a> that could be used in upcoming Macs over the course of the next month or two.<\/p>\n<p>Notification Forwarding &#8211; EU Only<\/p>\n<p>In the iOS 26.3 beta, Apple tested a new &#8220;Notification Forwarding&#8221; setting that allows incoming notifications on an \u200ciPhone\u200c to be forwarded to a third-party wearable device like an Android smartwatch. Apple may have decided to delay this functionality until iOS 26.4.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1030197 lazyload\" alt=\"ios 26 3 notification forwarding\" width=\"2114\" height=\"1189\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ios-26-3-notification-forwarding.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>The setting was available in the Notification section of the Settings app under a new &#8220;Notification Forwarding&#8221; option. Notifications can only be forwarded to a single device at a time, so if Notification Forwarding is enabled with a third-party wearable, the Apple Watch won&#8217;t be able to receive and display notifications.<\/p>\n<p>Apple is adding this feature to address antitrust complaints suggesting that third-party wearables should have the same access to notifications and other features as the Apple Watch. It is limited to the European Union.<\/p>\n<p>Proximity Pairing &#8211; EU Only<\/p>\n<p>In the iOS 26.3 beta, Apple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2025\/12\/22\/ios-26-3-dma-airpods-pairing\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">added other Europe-only changes<\/a> for third-party wearables, which were shared by the European Commission. Devices like headphones and smartwatches are able to use some of the same functionality available to the AirPods and the Apple Watch going forward.<\/p>\n<p>Proximity pairing allows third-party devices to pair with an iOS device in an AirPods-like one-tap way by bringing an accessory close to an \u200ciPhone\u200c or an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/roundup\/ipad\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iPad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Security Updates<\/p>\n<p>iOS 26.3 addresses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2026\/02\/11\/ios-26-3-security-vulnerabilities\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">dozens of security vulnerabilities<\/a>, including one bug that was known to be actively exploited.<\/p>\n<p>Apple says that a vulnerability in the dyld dynamic link editor allowed for the execution of arbitrary code. The bug may have been used in an &#8220;extremely sophisticated attack&#8221; against targeted individuals in versions of iOS before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/roundup\/ios-26\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iOS 26<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There are several other vulnerabilities that were fixed too, across apps and services. A CoreAudio bug could allow a maliciously crafted media file to terminate an app, and a bug with Game Center could allow users to view sensitive information. A vulnerability in Messages could allow a shortcut to bypass sandbox restrictions, and an issue in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/guide\/photos\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Photos<\/a> could allow someone with physical access to an iOS device to get to photos from the Lock Screen.<\/p>\n<p>Now that the vulnerabilities have been publicized by Apple, even those that were not exploited before might be taken advantage of now. Apple recommends all users update their devices to iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/roundup\/macos-26\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">macOS Tahoe<\/a> 26.3 as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p>How to Update<\/p>\n<p>You can install iOS 26.3 by opening up the Settings app, tapping into the General section, and navigating to Software Update.<\/p>\n<p>Compatibility<\/p>\n<p>iOS 26.3 is available on all iPhones that support \u200ciOS 26\u200c, which includes the \u200ciPhone\u200c 11 and later.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s Next<\/p>\n<p>Apple is likely to release the first beta of its next update, iOS 26.4, in two weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple released iOS 26.3 today, and while it doesn&#8217;t have as many features as iOS 26.1 or iOS&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[1492,85,46,321,125],"class_list":["post-287636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-featured","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}