The much-anticipated iOS 17.3 release is here. Is it any good and should you install it? This is an especially relevant question since it comes at the end of a fraught gestation period where Apple took the very rare step of pulling a developer beta just hours after release.
Apple iOS 17.3. Should you upgrade?
Please note I’ll be updating this post in a few days with a final thought on whether you should upgrade or not.
Who Is It For And How Do You Get It?
All iPhones that can run iOS 17 are compatible with this latest release. That means all handsets from 2018 onwards. In other words, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, all models of iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14 and the latest iPhone 15 series. It also includes the iPhone SE second-and third-generation phones. Updates are available for automatic downloading but you will likely get them on your iPhone sooner if you click on Settings, then General, then Software Update.
What It’s About
The big news on this release is Stolen Device Protection, available for iPhones only. It means that if someone has stolen your iPhone and additionally has access to your passcode, the damage they can do to your digital life, or your pocket, is significantly curtailed. There are also collaborative playlists for Apple Music and the capability to stream content from your iPhone to a compatible hotel TV.
For full details of what’s there, turn to Apple’s notes, link below, or to a detailed account here on Forbes.
Apple Release Notes
Apple’s notes for the release can be found here.
Apple iOS 17.3 Security
Security issues are always a key reason to upgrade and there are more than a dozen of those in this release, 16 in fact. Top of the tree in terms of concern (though at the bottom of the security notes Apple has published) is a vulnerability in WebKit, the key to the Safari browser and this is an issue that has already been exploited, Apple says. There are three more security issues that fall under WebKit’s purview. Then there’s a Kernel problem which could see a bad actor execute code. The list goes on. You can read about all these problems in more detail in Kate O’Flaherty’s analysis here on Forbes.
Initial Reactions
As one Redditor points out, Stolen Device Protection is something that “iOS has needed for a long time,” while another adds, “Don’t forget to turn it on! It is off by default.” One commenter said, “I have seldom seen such a stable version,” which is a good start. Overall, though there is no indication that persistent problems affecting a small number of users, such as users who have contacted me reporting the difficulty of using a printer with an iPhone SE, I have not found any indication of new problems being created.
Apple iOS 17.3 Initial Verdict: Update
Stolen Device Protection is one big reason to get this update on board pronto, and the fact that there seem to be few objections to the software adds to the urgency. I’ll be monitoring how the reactions go as the week progresses and will report back with my final verdict next Tuesday, January 30.
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