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5 Things to Know About the iOS 14.3 Update

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Apple’s released its iOS 14.3 update and the firmware brings a fairly long list of changes to iPhone.

Like iOS 14.2, iOS 14.3 is a milestone release (x.x) which means it’s bigger than your average iOS update. Like most milestone upgrades, the iOS 14.3 update includes new features, important bug fixes, and security enhancements.

iOS 14.3 is compatible with the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 2, and the company’s iPhone 12 models.

With that in mind, we want to take you through everything there is to know about Apple’s latest iOS 14 software update for the iPhone.

In this guide we’ll walk you through iOS 14.3’s changes, the software’s current performance, iOS 14 problems, the iOS 14.3 jailbreak status, and more:

We’ll start with iOS 14.3’s performance on the iPhone.

iOS 14.3 Reviews

If your iPhone is running on iOS 14.2.1 or iOS 14.2, you’ll see a pretty big download.

For most iOS 14.2.1/iOS 14.2 users, iOS 14.3 will fall somewhere around 700MB. The exact download size varies based on your iPhone model and the version of iOS it’s currently running.

If your iPhone is running on an older version of iOS, you’ll likely see an even bigger download because your upgrade includes the features and fixes from any iOS updates you skipped.

If your phone is running iOS 14.2.1 or iOS 14.2, the iOS 14.3 installation should take less than 15 minutes to complete. It took about eight minutes to install on an iPhone 12 Pro and about nine minutes to install on an iPhone X.

For more on the iOS 14.3 download and installation, take a look at our guide.

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We’ve been using the iOS 14.3 update for awhile now and here’s what we’ve noticed about its performance in key areas:

Connectivity

  • Battery life is stable.
  • Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
  • Bluetooth is working normally.
  • GPS and cellular data are both stable.

Apps

  • Third-party apps including Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are working fine at the moment.
  • First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also stable.

Speed

  • iOS 14.3 currently feels as fast as iOS 14.2.1 and iOS 14.2.

If your iPhone is struggling on iOS 14.2.1, iOS 14.2, or an older version of iOS, you might want to install iOS 14.3 on your iPhone right now.

If you need help making a decision, please check out our reasons to, and not to, install the iOS 14.3 update. It will help you decide if the upgrade is worth it.

We’ve published our mini iOS 14.3 reviews for the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, and iPhone SE so check those guides for additional feedback if you need it.

iOS 14.3 Problems

The iOS 14.3 update is causing problems for some iPhone users. Some of these problems are brand new, others have carried over from previous versions of iOS 14.

The current list of iOS 14 issues includes installation problems, lag, Exchange issues, problems with first and third-party apps, hotspot problems, severe battery drain, touchscreen issues, issues with Touch ID and Face ID, charging issues, and various other bugs/performance issues.

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If you run into an issue on iOS 14.3, take a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 14 problems. We’ve also released tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and tips to help fix bad iOS 14 battery life.

If you don’t like iOS 14.3’s performance on your device, note that you can no longer downgrade your phone’s software to the previous version of iOS 14.

Apple recently stopped signing on iOS 14.2.1 and iOS 14.2 which means you can’t drop back in an attempt to improve your iPhone’s performance.

The company has also stopped signing on iOS 14.1, iOS 14.0.1, iOS 14.0, and iOS 13 which means there’s no way to get back to those versions of iOS either.

For more on the downgrade process, check out our guide.

iOS 14.3 Update: What’s New

Apple’s x.x updates always bring a mix of features, security patches, and under-the-hood improvements and that’s what you get from iOS 14.3. Here’s the full iOS 14.3 change log:

New Features

Apple Fitness+

  • A new fitness experience powered by Apple Watch with studio-style workouts available on your ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and Apple TV (Apple Watch Series 3 and later)
  • New Fitness app on ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and ‌Apple TV‌ to browse Fitness+ workouts, trainers, and personalized recommendations
  • Video workouts added each week in ten popular workout types: High Intensity Interval Training, Indoor Cycling, Yoga, Core, Strength, Dance, Rowing, Treadmill Walking, Treadmill Running, and Mindful Cooldown
  • Playlists curated by Fitness+ trainers to complement your workout
  • Fitness+ subscription available in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States

AirPods Max

  • Support for ‌AirPods Max‌, new over-ear headphones
  • High fidelity audio for rich sound
  • Adaptive EQ adapts sound in real time to the personal fit of ear cushions
  • Active Noise Cancellation to block out environmental noise
  • Transparency mode to hear the environment around you
  • Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking for a theater-like listening experience

Photos

  • Apple ProRAW photos can be captured on ‌iPhone 12 Pro‌ and iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • Apple ProRAW photos can be edited in the ‌Photos‌ app
  • Option to record video at 25 fps
  • Mirror the front facing camera for still photos on ‌iPhone‌ 6s, ‌iPhone‌ 6s Plus, iPhone SE, ‌iPhone‌ 7, ‌iPhone‌ 7 Plus, ‌iPhone‌ 8, ‌iPhone‌ 8 Plus, and ‌iPhone‌ X

Privacy

  • New privacy information section on App Store pages that includes a developer-reported summary of the app’s privacy practices

TV app

  • An all-new Apple TV+ tab makes it easy to discover and watch Apple Original shows and movies
  • Enhanced search so you can browse by category such as genre, and see recent searches and suggestions as you type
  • Top search results shown with the most relevant matches across movies, TV shows, cast, channels, and sports

App Clips

  • Support for launching App Clips by scanning Apple-designed App Clip Codes via Camera or from Control Center

Health

  • Ability to indicate pregnancy, lactation, or contraceptive use in Cycle Tracking in the Health app in order to better manage period and fertile window predictions

Weather

  • Air quality data is now available in Weather, Maps, and Siri for locations in China mainland
  • Air quality health recommendations are provided in Weather and ‌Siri‌ for the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, and Mexico at certain air quality levels
  • Air quality data in Weather, Maps, and ‌Siri‌ reflects updated national scales for Germany and Mexico

Safari

  • Ecosia search engine option in Safari

Bug Fixes

  • Addresses an issue where some MMS messages may not be received
  • Addresses an issue where Contact groups failed to display members when composing a message
  • Addresses an issue where some videos would not appear correctly when shared from the ‌Photos‌ app
  • Addresses an issue where app folders may fail to open
  • Addresses an issue where Spotlight search results, and opening apps from Spotlight may not work
  • Addresses an issue where Bluetooth could be unavailable in Settings
  • Addresses an issue where MagSafe Duo Charger could wirelessly charge your ‌iPhone‌ at less than the maximum power
  • Addresses an issue where wireless accessories and peripherals using the WAC protocol could fail to complete setup
  • Addresses an issue where the keyboard would dismiss when adding a list in Reminders while using VoiceOver

In addition, iOS 14.3 (and watchOS 7.2) includes a new Apple Watch ECG algorithm on board. Speaking of ECG, iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2 have brought the ECG app to iPhone and Apple Watch users in Taiwan. Apple confirmed the news in a press release.

iOS 14.3 includes animated album art in Apple Music which you can see in action right here. It also brings a change to the iPhone setup process in certain regions. Apple will suggest third-party apps to users when setting up new devices.

iOS 14.3 carries nine new security patches and you can read about those on its security site.

iOS 14.3 Jailbreak

The developer team behind the Checkra1n jailbreaking tool has released a version that adds support for iOS 14.1 and 14.2. It also supports iOS 14.3.

The newest version of the tool now works with A10/A10X devices on iOS 14.x. There’s also limited support for A11-powered devices on iOS 14.x.

If you own an iPhone model with a newer processor, you’ll need to stay on iOS 13 for now.

For more on the iOS 14 jailbreak, head over to checkra1n’s website.

What’s Next for iOS 14

Apple’s got a new version of iOS 14 in the works.

The company’s confirmed an iOS 14.4 upgrade for iPhone models. The software is currently in beta testing and we expect Apple to push the software out to iPhone users soon.

If you can’t/don’t want to wait for the official release, you can download the iOS 14.4 beta onto your iPhone right now.

For more on iOS 14.4 and the beta, please check out our guide.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 14.8.1 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 14.8.1 for Better Security

Install iOS 14.8.1 for Better Security

If security is important to you, think about installing iOS 14.8.1 right away.

The iOS 14.8.1 update brings 12 new security patches to the iPhone. You can read about all of them over on Apple's site

If you want to better protect your iPhone and its data, you'll want to install the iOS 14.8.1 update in the near future. 

If you missed iOS 14.8, you'll get its security patches with your upgrade. You can learn more about them right here

If you missed iOS 14.7.1, you'll get its patch with your upgrade. If you want to learn more about iOS 14.7.1's security update, check out its support page.

If you missed iOS 14.7, you'll get its 31 security patches with your upgrade. You can learn more about those on Apple's website

If you skipped iOS 14.6, you'll get the update's 38 security patches with your iOS 14.8.1 update. If you're curious about the particulars, you can read about them right here.

If you skipped iOS 14.5.1, you get the update's two security patches on board. You can read about them over on Apple's website. Both are related to WebKit. 

If you missed iOS 14.5 you'll get its patches with your upgrade. You can read more about those changes over on Apple's website.

iOS 14.5 also brought Apple's new App Tracking Transparency which lets you control which apps are allowed to track your activity across other companies' apps and websites for ads or sharing with data brokers.

If you skipped iOS 14.4.2, you get its security patch with iOS 14.8.1. You can learn more about that patch over on Apple's website as well. 

If you missed iOS 14.4.1, you get its patch with your upgrade to iOS 14.8.1. You can read about that patch right here.

If you skipped iOS 14.4, you get the update's patches with your upgrade. You can learn more about iOS 14.4's security patches right here

If you skipped iOS 14.3 you'll get its nine security updates with your upgrade. You can read more about them on its security site

iOS 14.3 also included a new privacy information section on App Store pages that includes a developer-reported summary of the app’s privacy practices.

If you skipped iOS 14.2, your iOS 14.8.1 update includes 24 additional security patches. You can learn more about the patches on Apple's security website

If you're still running iOS 13, iOS 14.8.1 includes iOS 14.0's security updates. 

iOS 14.0 brought 11 new security patches to the iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's website.

In addition to those patches, iOS 14 comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improvements to Home/HomeKit and Safari. 

For instance in Safari, you can now tap the Privacy Report button to better understand how websites handle your privacy.

With iOS 14 on board you can now get information on the App Store that will help you understand the privacy practices of apps before you download them. 

There is also a new recording indicator that will appear at the top of your screen whenever an app is using your microphone or camera. You can see if an app has used them recently in Control Center.

Researchers also discovered that Apple brought a new "BlastDoor" sandbox security system to iOS 14. The system is meant to prevent attacks from occurring via the Messages app. 

You can read more about "BlastDoor" right here

Last update on 2024-03-25. This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read our disclosure policy for more details. Images via Amazon API

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