New iOS 11.3 Update Adds Features and Improves iPhone Performance

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Late last week Apple released its latest update to its iPhone software, iOS 11.3. This highly-anticipated update addresses the issue of Apple slowing down older iPhones to preserve battery life. It also adds features that are useful and fun, and may even make you safer.

Even if you don’t have battery issues with your iPhone, be sure to check out the other important features iOS 11.3 adds to iPhones.

To learn how to update to your iPhone, check out the Apple iOS Update page.

[Note: Some of these features are being released by Apple in Beta mode, which means they are still being tested. A Beta mode setting is a bit unusual for Apple, but it’s worth checking these features in spite of being in Beta mode.]

iPhone Battery-Gate

As you may remember, 2017 ended with a major controversy for Apple regarding how the performance of iPhones with older batteries. Someone discovered code that revealed Apple was intentionally slowing iPhones with older batteries to preserve battery life. The problem was, Apple was doing this without letting users know what was happening.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed by unhappy customers.

Learn more at =>  Find Out Why Your Older iPhone Is Slow and How to Make It Act Like New

Apple has now tackled this issue with the release of iOS 11.3 last week that does many things, but two of them are in direct response to the battery controversy.

Battery Health (Beta)

With iOS 11.3 you can now see in Settings how much your iPhone’s battery has degraded over time. The type of batteries smartphones use, lithium ion batteries, lose their ability to charge over time. With the iOS 11.3 update you can see exactly how much different the charging capacity of your iPhone battery is now, compared to when you first got it.

Also check out => How a Scientific Discovery May Make Batteries Last Forever

To check on the health of your iPhone battery, go to Settings => Battery => Battery Health (Beta).

There you will see the percentage of capacity your iPhone battery has, compared to its original capacity. So if you see 50% Battery Health, for example, your iPhone battery will only hold half the charge as it did when it was new.

Apple is offering replacement batteries for $29 for certain models of iPhone through the end of 2018. A link may appear helping you schedule service for replacing your iPhone battery.

Battery Throttling

If your battery is well below optimal capacity, your iPhone will slow down or be throttled to preserve battery life. You can turn off this feature to have a speedier iPhone, though your battery won’t last as long.

If you see a blue link to turn off battery throttling, tap it to speed up your iPhone. Be sure you are near a wall charger or have an external battery if your battery is quite old and you need it to keep using it for a while.

Other Features in iOS 11.3

Battery management isn’t the only new feature in iOS 11.3. These other features will be added to your iPhone with this update:

Emergency Location Services

With iOS 11.3, your iPhone will automatically send your location when you call emergency services that use Advanced Mobile Location (AML).

With this feature, your iPhone can show emergency services that use AML where you are when you call them, even if you don’t know your location or are unable to communicate in an emergency.

According to EENA, the European Emergency Numbers Association, the countries that currently use AML are United Kingdom, Estonia, Lithuania, Austria, Iceland, Belgium, Ireland, Finland and New Zealand.

Privacy

Apple has added a new privacy alert in iOS 11.3. When an Apple app asks for permission to access your information, you’ll see an icon and a link to get more information about how your personal information will be used.

Augmented Reality Features

iOS 11.3 adds new augmented reality features, allowing developers to add more creative elements to their augmented reality apps.

=> See, Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality – What’s the Difference?

For example, augmented reality apps will now be able to place items on vertical surfaces. So if you want to see how an object will look on your walls, you will now be able to do that with updated augmented reality apps.

Business Chat (Beta)

Business Chat lets iPhone and iPad users chat with businesses using the Messages app. You can reach customer service, ask questions, schedule appointments, and make purchases directly using Business Chat.

According to Apple, your contact information will not be shared with businesses using Business Chat, unless you share it yourself.

Lowe’s, Home Depot, Discover, Newegg, Hilton, Marriott, and Wells Fargo are some of the first to sign onto the service. Check out the Apple Business Chat page for a list of participating businesses and to learn more about the service.

Business Chat is currently US only.

Health Records (Beta)

iOS 11.3 adds Health Records to the Health app. With this new features, users can access health records and view lab results, immunizations, and more in a consolidated timeline in the Health app.

At launch, 39 medical providers use Apple’s Health app so you can check to see if yours does. Find out more and see a list of participating providers at the Apple Health Records announcement page.

Like Business Chat, Health Records is currently US only.

Apple Music

Apple Music now has a Music Videos section, which is filled with ad-free videos. With iOS 11.3, you can create and find video playlists in Apple Music. Go to the Browse section of Apple Music to find the Music Videos section.

New Animojis

iPhone X owners get four new animojis in the Messages app:

• Lion
• Dragon
• Skull
• Bear

Here’s an image with three of them, without the skull because the skull seems a bit creepy and doesn’t show much expression…

Your Thoughts

Have you updated your iPhone to iOS 11.3? Which features of iOS 11.3 do you find the most useful? Has your battery decreased in capacity?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!