Apple just released iOS 18.3, its latest software update for iPhone, on January 27 — after 42 days of beta testing. While it’s not as feature-packed as the previous updates for iOS 18.2 and iOS 18.1 were, there are still a few important changes you’ll want to know about.
Aside from the return of a critical Calculator feature, most of the changes in iOS 18.3 apply to iPhone models that support Apple Intelligence. Those would be the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models. The new emoji from Unicode 16 are also missing from this update but are expected to arrive with iOS 18.4.
Note: Many of these features and changes also apply to iPads running iPadOS 18.3 and Macs running macOS Sequoia 15.3.
New Unity Rhythm Wallpapers
Included in the update are new wallpapers for Apple’s Black Unity Collection.
Apple today [Jan. 27] unveiled a new Black Unity Collection to honor Black History Month, and celebrate Black culture and community. Inspired by the rhythm of humanity, the collection includes a special-edition Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop, a matching watch face, and iPhone and iPad wallpapers.
The wallpapers, called Unity Rhythm, feature custom lettering in black, green, and red — the colors of the Pan-African flag. They spell out “Unity,” which changes orientation when locked or unlocked. When you wake up your iPhone, the letters on your Lock Screen adjust, and the brushstrokes come to life.
There are six to choose from: Unity, Black, Cream, Red, Green, and Gold.
Apple Intelligence Enabled by Default
According to Apple’s release notes for developers, you’ll automatically be opted into Apple Intelligence after upgrading a supported device to iOS 18.3. That way, you have immediate access to all of Apple Intelligence’s features. If you don’t like Apple’s generative artificial intelligence tools, you can opt out via Settings » Apple Intelligence & Siri.
Add Events with Visual Intelligence
Visual Intelligence was introduced with iOS 18.2 for iPhone models with Camera Control, but one thing that didn’t make the cut was the ability to add events to Calendar after scanning event details from a poster, flyer, or other sources. That ability is now available with iOS 18.3. To be fair, you could add an event to Calendar manually whenever a date or time appeared in the Visual Intelligence capture, but the process is now streamlined with a Create Event action item.
Identify Plants and Animals with Visual Intelligence
Another missing thing from Visual Intelligence was the ability to identify plants and animals, which is also now included in iOS 18.3’s update.
Updated Style for Notification Summaries
Notification Summaries, another big part of Apple Intelligence, are more visually different on the Lock Screen and in the Notification Center on an iPhone 16 model, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Before, the summary glyph would help you tell them apart from regular notifications. That’s still the case, but now summaries are also italicized.
Manage Notification Summaries from the Lock Screen
Notification Summaries can also now be turned off per app from the Lock Screen or Notification Center. On an iPhone 16 model, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max, swipe left on the notification summary, select Options, then choose Turn Off [App] Summaries. You may also see options to turn summaries on when they are off for an app.
Notification Summaries Onboarding
When you first enable Notification Summaries via Settings » Notifications » Summarize Notifications, iOS 18.3 clarifies that it’s still a beta feature. You’ll see a new onboarding screen, explaining:
You can use Apple Intelligence to summarize content in notifications you receive, making them easier to scan at a glance.
This beta feature will occasionally make mistakes that could misrepresent the meaning of the original notification.
After continuing with Choose Notifications to Summarize, you’ll turn on summaries for News & Entertainment, Communication & Social, and/or All Other Apps.
Unavailable Alerts for Notification Summaries
Notification Summaries rolled out with iOS 18.1, and aside from the benefits shown above, iOS 18.3 has actually taken away summaries for news and entertainment apps. This is the result of inaccurate summaries, which BBC News brought to Apple’s attention.
However, iOS 18.3 does include a new way to help you identify which apps can use summaries and which cannot.
Go to Settings » Notifications » Summarize Notifications (you’ll also see it with the onboarding process outlined above) or Settings » Apps » [App Name] » Summarize Notifications. You’ll see a “Temporarily Unavailable” notice if it’s not working. If toggled on, summaries will appear again when the feature becomes available.
Equals Sign (=) Repeats Last Operation in Calculator
When iOS 18 first came out, the new Calculator design, as impressive as it was, left out a feature we had before: being able to hit the equals sign (=) to perform the last mathematical operation again. Now, that ability is finally back with iOS 18.3.
Crop Warning for PDF Screenshots
Whenever you crop a full-page screenshot of a PDF, such as a full-page screenshot from a website in Safari, the screenshot service will warn you that the cropped area may be accessible in some apps. Here’s the full warning:
The cropped content is not removed from the PDF.
Content outside the cropped area won’t be visible in most PDF viewers, but it can be made visible in some apps.
AE/AF Lock Change for Camera Control
On iPhone 16 models, visit Settings » Camera » Camera Control, and you’ll see that the AE/AF Lock introduced in iOS 18.2 is now called Lock Focus and Exposure, making it much clearer. It also includes a description for it:
Lightly press and hold, then continue touching Camera Control to maintain focus and exposure.
New Genmoji Button in Messages
On devices that support Apple Intelligence, to make creating Genmoji easier, you’ll now find a Genmoji option behind the Apps (+) button.
Block Button on Live Voicemail
When you receive a Live Voicemail from an unknown number, you’ll be able to block it more quickly thanks to a dedicated “Block” button in the corner of the Live Voicemail interface.
Robot Vacuum Support
Apple announced when iOS 18 first came out that Home would support robot vacuums. Well, that finally materialized with iOS 18.3. As long as the robot vac supports HomeKit or Matter, like iRobot’s Roomba Combo 10 Max Robot, it should work with Home. And controlling your robot vac with Siri only works in U.S. English right now.
Bug Fixes
As with any iOS software update, Apple has included a few bug fixes, all listed below.
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Fixes an issue where the keyboard might disappear when initiating a typed Siri request.
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Resolves an issue where audio playback continues until the song ends, even after closing Apple Music.
There are also various WebKit bug fixes for Safari.
Security Updates
As with bug fixes, patches for recently discovered security vulnerabilities are also included. There are 26 known fixes, all listed below. For more details on them, visit Apple’s security updates page.
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Accessibility: An attacker with physical access to an unlocked device may have been able to access Photos while the app was locked. An authentication issue was addressed with improved state management.
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AirPlay: An attacker on the local network may have been able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt process memory. An input validation issue was addressed.
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AirPlay: A remote attacker may have caused an unexpected app termination. A type confusion issue was addressed with improved checks.
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AirPlay: An attacker in a privileged position may have been able to perform a denial-of-service. The issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
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AirPlay: A remote attacker may have been able to cause a denial-of-service. A null pointer dereference was addressed with improved input validation.
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AirPlay: A remote attacker may have caused an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. A type confusion issue was addressed with improved checks.
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ARKit: Parsing a file may have led to an unexpected app termination. The issue was addressed with improved checks.
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CoreAudio: Parsing a file may have led to an unexpected app termination. The issue was addressed with improved checks.
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CoreMedia: Parsing a file may have led to an unexpected app termination. The issue was addressed with improved checks.
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CoreMedia: A malicious application may have been able to elevate privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 17.2. A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management.
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ImageIO: Processing an image may have led to a denial-of-service. The issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
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Kernel: A malicious app may have been able to gain root privileges. A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions.
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Kernel: An app may have been able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. A validation issue was addressed with improved logic.
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LaunchServices: An app may have been able to fingerprint the user. This issue was addressed with improved redaction of sensitive information.
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libxslt: Processing maliciously crafted web content may have led to an unexpected process crash. This issue was addressed through improved state management.
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Managed Configuration: Restoring a maliciously crafted backup file may have led to modification of protected system files. This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks.
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Passkeys: An app may have gained unauthorized access to Bluetooth. This is a vulnerability in open source code and Apple Software is among the affected projects. The CVE-ID was assigned by a third party. Learn more about the issue and CVE-ID at cve.org.
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Safari: Visiting a malicious website may have led to address bar spoofing. The issue was addressed by adding additional logic.
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Safari: Visiting a malicious website may have led to user interface spoofing. The issue was addressed with improved UI.
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SceneKit: Parsing a file may have led to disclosure of user information. An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking.
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Time Zone: An app may have been able to view a contact’s phone number in system logs. A privacy issue was addressed with improved private data redaction for log entries.
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WebContentFilter: An attacker may have been able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory. An out-of-bounds write was addressed with improved input validation.
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WebKit: A maliciously crafted webpage may have been able to fingerprint the user. The issue was addressed with improved access restrictions to the file system.
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WebKit: Processing web content may have led to a denial-of-service. The issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
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WebKit: Processing maliciously crafted web content may have led to an unexpected process crash. This issue was addressed through improved state management.
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WebKit Web Inspector: Copying a URL from Web Inspector may have led to command injection. A privacy issue was addressed with improved handling of files.
Other Features
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Brazil users can now enable sleep apnea notifications.
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Hints to new features such as an Accessibility features override switch, a new Invites app, new intelligence sounds for VoiceOver, new zoom transitions in Shortcuts and Messages, feedback options for Notification Summaries, Apple Intelligence shortcut actions, additional screen recording/streaming features, and more.
Don’t Miss: Your iPhone Is Getting New Emoji Soon — Meet the Characters Arriving in iOS 18.4
Cover photo and screenshots by Gadget Hacks
