Apple iOS 9.3: Should You Upgrade?

Well done Apple. iOS 9.3 is now available and the company deserves a pat on the back. Why? Yes it’s a major update, but the real credit goes to Apple for putting it through no less than seven betas
and testing it for almost twice as long as the problem filled iOS 9.0 and iOS 9.1.
But does that mean Apple nailed it? Read on to find out…
Who Is iOS 9.3 For?
As with other previous iOS 9.x releases, iOS 9.3 is compatible with the iPhone 4S or later, iPad 2 or later, iPad mini or later, iPad Pro and 5th generation iPod touch or later. Users should be prompted to upgrade automatically, but if you don’t receive a notification this can be triggered manually by navigating to Settings > General > Software Update

Apple iOS 9.3. Image credit: Gordon Kelly

The Deal Breaker
Before I dig into the meat of iOS 9.3, the big warning is there’s currently no jailbreak available. Consequently those users with jailbroken iPhones, iPads and iPod touches should stay put and wait for updates from the Pangu and TaiG teams in the coming weeks.
So What Do You Get?
The iOS 9.3 release notes are pages long, but here are the highlights all users should focus on:


Night Shift - iOS finally has a bluelight filter. Bluelight (part of the light emitted from all displays) affects the body’s circadian rhythm so finding a way to reduce this late at night can be of real benefit to our sleeping patterns. Happily Night Shift also scheduled automatically (including across time zones) and filter hews and intensity levels are customisable. Its icon is added to the Control Center, which is accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
Update: there is one Night Shift nasty surprise

Night Shift on Apple iOS 9.3. Image credit: Gordon Kelly

Education (iPad) – in education environments, iPads now support multi-user modes which automatically sync user data so no one device is tied to any particular student (though a full multi-user mode is still incognito, an area where Apple lags behind Android). ‘Classroom’ and ‘Apple School Manager’ apps also enables teachers to mass control all students iPads during a lesson as well as compile courses. Read about this in detail here.
Apple Watch – iOS 9.3 allows pairing of more than one Apple Watch to a single device, useful for a household iPad or – more typically – developers.  
Read more – Galaxy S7 Vs iPhone 6S Review: Easy Wins, Big Losses
Live Photos – users can now extract the full resolution photo from an unwanted Live Photo, which is actually very handy and potentially a real space saver. Especially for those suffering with 16GB models.
Notes security – almost as if toying with the FBI, Apple has upgraded iOS security in iOS 9.3 by adding support for password and fingerprint authentication to specific notes. In more innocent situations this is great for things like keeping Christmas present lists a secret.

3D Touch is still limited, but support is growing in iOS 9.3. Image credit: Gordon Kelly

3D Touch upgraded – this has been a slow evolution, but iOS 9.3 expands Quick Actions (pressured touches on apps) to a lot more stock apps. These include Weather, Compass, App Store, iTunes Store and Health as well as Settings, which gets very handy WiFi and Bluetooth shortcuts.
Apple Health – gets a makeover to match the Activity app and allows Apple Watch Activity stats like Move calories, Exercise minutes and Stand hours to be added to its Dashboard. It also now makes fitness app suggestions.
CarPlay - iOS 9.3 now syncs the Apple Music tabs ‘For You’ and ‘New’ for CarPlay users as well as adding ‘Nearby’ to Apple Maps which brings up handy local POIs including restaurants and cafes.
Verizon WiFi Calling – yes, it’s finally here.
Apple News – landscape mode has been added along with support for embedded videos in articles and a new swipe gesture for revealing Like, Save and Share options.
Podcasts – video finally gets a long overlooked fullscreen mode, but PIP (picture-in-picture) support is still MIA.
iBooks – user added eBooks and PDFs finally sync to iCloud, and about time too.