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iOS 8.3 Update: 10 Things to Know Now

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On Wednesday, Apple released its highly anticipated iOS 8.3 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Over the past few days, we’ve taken a close look at Apple’s replacement for iOS 8.2. And with the smoke finally starting to settle, we want to take a look at what we think iPhone and iPad users need to know now about Apple’s iOS 8.3 update.

In early February, Apple released an iOS 8.3 beta update to developers. A few weeks later, it released another. And then, a few weeks after that, the company released two more betas to developers and to the general public. Those updates represented the first betas released to the general public ahead of an iOS release and they foreshadow a public iOS 9 beta release.

Earlier this week, Apple finally took the iOS 8.3 update out of both the private and public beta programs and delivered it to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users around the world. iOS 8.3 is a massive update and it brings tons of fixes and enhancements to iOS 8 users. We can’t remember a bug fix update as big as iOS 8.3.

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This is a substantial update for iOS 8 users and naturally, many people have already upgraded to iOS 8.3. And there are of course others that have opted to pass on the new update, at least for the time being. With both groups in mind, we want to take a look at what we think you need to know now that the iOS 8.3 update has been out for a few days.

Here, we’ll tell you about 10 things we think you need to know about the iOS 8.3 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This will cover the update itself, some smaller release details, and Amore. If you weren’t able to follow along this week, this will catch you up to speed.

You Should Prepare for iOS 8.3

The first thing you should know is that you shouldn’t install the iOS 8.3 update blindly. This is a big iOS update, arguably the biggest since the release of iOS 8.0 back in September, so you’re going to want to be prepared.

We’ve put together some things to do before installing the iOS 8.3 update on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. We’ve also stitched together some iOS 8.3 release tips that will come in handy if you decide that you do want to make the move to Apple’s latest update.

You don’t have to follow all of these tips but we recommend taking a look just to make sure that you’ve covered all of your bases. They could help you cut down the potential for iOS 8.3 problems.

iOS 8.3 vs. iOS 8.2

iOS 8.2 was a big update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. iOS 8.3 is even bigger.

Apple’s new iOS 8.3 update comes with a ton of bug fixes and security enhancements. It also comes with some new features including some big changes to the Emoji keyboard.

If you’ve downloaded iOS 8.3 already and you’ve used Emojis, you’ve probably already seen the changes for yourself. If you haven’t, the slideshow below will give you an idea about what to expect.

iOS 8.3 vs iOS 8.2: What’s New in iOS 8.3

New iPhone Emoji in iOS 8.3

New iPhone Emoji in iOS 8.3

Apple adds over 300 new iPhone emoji in iOS 8.3. There are new Emoji like the Apple Watch and a new Mac, but most users will focus on the addition of more family choices including more kids, families of two men or two women and now there is an option to change the skin tone of many emoji.

Read: How to Use New Emojis

With this update you can tap and hold to choose the skin tone of an emoji icon for many emoji options and then tap to pick the color option. Tap and hold on a new color option to make it the default.

The iOS 8.3 emoji keyboard for iPhone now offers continuous scrolling so it is easier to scroll through the emoji options and find the ones you want.

There are a number of other changes on board the iOS 8.3 update and the slideshow above will give you a better idea about what to expect from iOS 8.3 and its change log.

iPhone iOS 8.3 Impressions

Over the past few days, we’ve been putting the iOS 8.3 through its paces on several different iPhone variants. We’ve taken a look at the iPhone 6 iOS 8.3 update, iPhone 6 Plus iOS 8.3 update, iPhone 5s iOS 8.3 update, the iPhone 5 iOS 8.3 update, and we’ve put together a look at feedback from owners of the iPhone 4s.

The overall iOS 8.3 iPhone 6 Plus performance is very good.

The overall iOS 8.3 iPhone 6 Plus performance is very good.

If you’re on the fence about iOS 8.3, we highly suggest starting with those impressions. They will give you an early feel for the iOS 8.3 update and its performance.

iPad iOS 8.3 Impressions

We’ve done the same for the iPad. In the past three days, we’ve posted our impressions of the iPad Air iOS 8.3 update, the iPad mini 2 iOS 8.3 update, and we’ve offered some feedback about the iOS 8.3 update for iPad 2.

Again, if you can’t decide, we advise you to take a look at the initial impressions. They will help you get headed in one direction or the other. Of course, you’ll also want to consider the feedback from other sites and other users before making a final decision on iOS 8.3.

You Can Downgrade to iOS 8.2

For the moment, you can downgrade to iOS 8.2. What this means is that if you follow our instructions, you can drop back down to iOS 8.2 if you aren’t in love with the changes found in the iOS 8.3 update.

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This is a limited time thing. Apple will almost certainly plug up the loophole in the near future which means that if you want to trial the iOS 8.3 update, you need to do so right now. Apple typically closes up the downgrade around the two week mark.

iOS 8.3 Jailbreak Release

Jailbreak developers failed to release an iOS 8.2 jailbreak and it doesn’t look like they’re having much luck with an iOS 8.3 jailbreak either.

Earlier this week, well known jailbreak developer MuscleNerd tweeted about the 39 security bugs that were fixed in iOS 8.3. iOS 8.3 is one of the biggest bug fix updates in recent memory and it appears that it patched up some of the exploits used by the TaiG jailbreak team.

According to a message that the TaiG dev team recently posted (translated to English), the development of an iOS 8.2 jailbreak tool is “constrained by many factors.” though the profess that they will release “it as soon as we can.”

At this point, it’s not looking good though we should learn more as we push away from the iOS 8.3 release.

8 Reasons to Install iOS 8.3 & 5 Reasons Not to Install

Pretty straight forward. We recently put together a list of reasons why you should, and perhaps shouldn’t, install the iOS 8.3 update right now. We suggest taking a look at those reasons if you’re struggling to come to a decision yourself.

iOS 8.3 Problems Plague iPhone & iPad Users

If you haven’t installed iOS 8.3 yet, note that iOS 8.3 problems are plaguing iPhone and iPad users. Complaints about horrible battery life continue to emerge though we’ve seen a smattering of smaller isolated issues impacting the performance on devices like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5.

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iPhone and iPad users have also discovered a frustrating Touch ID bug. As of right now, users with models that feature Touch ID cannot use the feature to quickly download apps from the App Store. Instead, the App Store prompts users to input their password.

iOS 8.3 problems will almost certainly continue to emerge as more users install the update so users that aren’t on iOS 8.3 will certainly want to take a look at those issues before installing.

Fixes for iOS 8.3 Problems

If you’re already on iOS 8.3 and you’re experiencing issues, we recommend that you take a look at our fixes for common iOS 8.3 problems. Many of these fixes have been passed down from update to update and there’s a good chance that they’ll help solve whatever is plaguing your device.

We’ve also put together a list of ways to fix bad iOS 8.3 battery life. These will come in handy if you’re noticing weird drain after making the move to iOS 8.3. They’ll also come in handy for future iOS updates.

Next iOS 8 Release MIA

At this point, if you’re dealing with iOS 8.3 problems, you’re on your own. Apple hasn’t confirmed any other iOS updates though the Touch ID problem may force the company to issue an iOS 8.3.1 update sooner rather than later.

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As a reminder, there are rumors that point to an iOS 8.4 release this summer alongside a potential Spotify-killer. It’s possible that Apple will roll iOS 8.4 into the iOS 9 update that’s expected later this year so until an iOS 8.4 beta or an iOS 8.4 update rolls out, we’ll probably be in the dark.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. holsen

    04/12/2015 at 2:59 pm

    The entry model comes with 64GB SSD as stated but only 2GB RAM – not 4. to get 4GB Ram you need to move up the 128GB SSD model

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