Apple Just Released iOS 26.3 With These New Features

It's officially time for another iPhone update: Apple dropped iOS 26.3 for compatible iPhones on Wednesday, following nearly two months of beta testing. Unlike iOS 26 itself, or even iOS 26.1 and iOS 26.2, iOS 26.3 isn't exactly feature-filled. But there are some interesting (and important) changes that are worth noting, including an easier way to leave iPhone altogether.

iOS 26.3 makes it easier to transfer your iPhone data to Android

Back in December, we learned about a small but substantial new iOS feature: an official way to make transferring between an iPhone and an Android device more seamless. In iOS' "Transfer or Reset iPhone" settings, there is now a new "Transfer to Android" option. Tap it, and iOS instructs you to place your iPhone near your Android device; from there, you can choose to pass along data like photos, messages, notes, and apps. However, it seems not all data will transfer: Health data, devices paired with Bluetooth, and "protected items" like locked notes will not come along with this transfer feature.

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Apple actually worked with Google directly on this feature, which means it doesn't just go one way: Android users will have a similar option on their end to transfer to iPhone. But those of us updating our iPhones to iOS 26.3 now have an easier escape route if we choose to switch platforms.

With iOS 26.3, Apple is giving certain users the ability to stop sharing their precise location with their cellular network providers. The new feature, "Limit Precise Location," reduces the exactness of the location data that is shared with cellular networks. That way, the network can determine your general location, but not your precise location. What that means in practical terms, at least according to Apple, is that the network might know what neighborhood you're in, but not the exact street address.

At this time, only Boost Mobile users in the U.S. will be able to use this feature with iOS 26.3. It also only works with some iOS devices, including the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and iPad Pro M5 Wi-Fi + Cellular. Hopefully, this will make its way to more cellular plans and more iPhones in the future, but for now, it's a pretty limited feature. While most of us won't be able to limit precise location sharing with the network, we can at least stop apps from harvesting this data.

"Weather" and "Astronomy" get their own wallpaper section in iOS 26.3

Talk about a small update: With iOS 26.3, Apple is breaking "Weather" and "Astronomy" into their own wallpaper sections. (Previously, these two categories were paired.) While Astronomy features the standard space wallpapers found in iOS 26.2 and earlier, Weather now features three preset wallpapers, with different font options and weather widgets.

Notification forwarding in the EU

Back in September, we learned Apple was quietly working on some type of notification forwarding feature, but other than that basic functionality, the details were left to speculation. At the time, the common assumption was that Apple intended the feature to be used to forward notifications to third-party devices, specifically smartwatches, in an attempt to open up the platform to wearables other than the Apple Watch. This wouldn't be Apple's choice, of course—left to its own devices, the company would keep as many features locked to Apple devices as possible. Instead, the motivation would come from the E.U, which has compelled Apple to make its platforms more cooperative with third-party devices.

As it happens, this feature is now launching with iOS 26.3—albeit, only in the EU (With the first iOS 26.3 beta, Apple added a “Notification Forwarding” option in Notification settings for all iPhones. They have since removed this option, since the feature is EU-only.) While the option isn't live at this time, Apple does have a description for how the feature works, saying that notifications can be forwarded to one device at a time. Importantly, the description says that when notifications are forwarded to another device, they will not appear on your Apple Watch. Is that limitation really necessary, Apple?

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EU iPhone users are also getting another interesting feature with iOS 26.3. The new update will allow users to pair third-party accessories with their iPhones by bringing the devices close together, similar to how pairing AirPods to iPhones works. Developers will need to add this functionality to their devices before this works, of course, but the new update makes it possible.

Bug fixes and security patches

Apple typically bundles its feature updates, like iOS 26.3, with stability patches, including for bugs and security vulnerabilities. This update is no different. Apple's security notes for iOS 26.3 list 37 patches for security vulnerabilities, covering issues across iOS. The most important by far patches an issue with dyld, Apple's "Dynamic Link Editor," which Apple says may have been used in a "sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals." The company has used this language before, usually referring to attacks against high-profile users from governments or large organizations. As such, most users likely won't be affected by this bug, but better safe than sorry: update ASAP.

Other important security updates include a patch for a Photos bug that could let someone access your photos from the Lock Screen; a fix for a Screenshots issue that could let an attacker see your deleted notes; a patch for a UIKit bug that could let someone take screenshots of sensitive data when using iPhone Mirroring with Mac; and a fix for a VoiceOver bug that could let an attacker view sensitive information even when your iPhone is locked.

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