iOS 17.3: Your iPhone Gets Stolen Device Protection, Bug Fixes and More

Stolen Device Protection

Apple's iOS 17.3 introduces Stolen Device Protection to your iPhone, which aims to help protect you and your data. This feature requires multiple biometric authentications to access sensitive settings and information, such as your Apple ID password. It uses a new mechanism called Security Delay, which prompts you to enter your biometric information twice if you try to change these settings away from a familiar location.

While Stolen Device Protection only protects a few settings, Apple recommends everyone to turn it on for added security. However, users still need to take additional steps to protect other information, such as their social media accounts.

New Unity Bloom wallpaper

To celebrate Black History Month, iOS 17.3 introduces a new wallpaper called Unity Bloom. This wallpaper features an outline of flowers that fill with color when the display is active. It adds a vibrant touch to your iPhone's home screen.

Apple Music collaborative playlists

With iOS 17.3, Apple brings collaborative playlists to Apple Music subscribers. This feature allows multiple people to edit and control shared playlists on the music streaming platform. Users can also react with an emoji to a song in a collaborative playlist added by someone else, providing instant feedback on their preferences.

Collaborative playlists were announced at WWDC 2023 and were included in beta versions of iOS 17.2. However, they were not included in the final release of that update.