iOS 13.3 released today. Here are 6 new features you should care about

Apple has released the new iOS 13.3 and iPadOS 13.3 today. This new update not only fixes many bugs from the older software but also introduces some new and exciting features that you can start using as soon as you update your iPhone.

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Here are the top 6 iOS 13.3 features that you should know about:

Disable memojis stickers from emoji keyboard

This new feature will be a welcome relief for many iPhone users who absolutely hated the Memoji stickers on their emoji keyboard. Since the launch of iOS 13, many users felt this feature was sort of intrusive on their keyboards. Now with iOS 13.3, you can choose if you want the stickers to show up on your keyboard.

Here is how you disable Memoji stickers from your iPhone Keyboard

1. 1. Open the Settings app 
   2. Tap on General > Keyboard
   3. Locate the Emoji section
      

      

   4. Disable Memoji Stickers here

Safari Supports NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-Compliant security keys in iOS 13.3

This may sound a mouthful but this is seriously an important new feature that has been added to Safari in iOS 13.3 to help users who prefer to use hardware-based two-factor authentication.

This feature will help support users who use physical security keys such as the Yubi key.

Most NFC, USB, and Lightning-based security keys will also work with Safari following the iOS 13.3 update.

 iOS 13.3 Brings Communication Limits feature to Screen Time

This is a new feature that Apple has introduced with iOS 13.3 and iPadOS 13.3. If your kids hated you before with all the imposed restrictions, wait till they see you learn this new feature. 

By using this feature you can set up time limits for communication by your contacts. Here’s how these new communication limits feature works:

1. 1. Tap on Settings > Screen Time
   2. Next, tap on Communication Limits
   3. Tap on ‘During Downtime’
   4. Select ‘Specific Contacts’ and choose the contacts that can be contacted during downtime

There is also the option of setting up allowed communication ‘During Allowed Screen Time’ using which you can limit the contacts the are allowed. 

Essentially this feature allows you to control phone, FaceTime, Messages communications of your child’s device.

New Message Delivered as Junk alert

iOS 13.3 includes features to minimize Junk messages in the Messages app. These improvements are being introduced in the iMessage app with this new release.

There is however a chance that when you send a message to a valid receiver, it still shows you an alert that reads  ‘message delivered as Junk’.

To address this issue, Apple has published a support document that walks you through some of the steps which can help you fix this issue on your iPhone or iPad.

Make sure to check the following two key settings in order to address or avoid this issue after upgrading to iOS 13.3

• On your device, go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and make sure that only your phone number is selected under Start New Conversations From. If your Apple ID is selected, the messages will be delivered as junk.
• If you’re on an iPad or iPod touch, turn on Text Message Forwarding from your iPhone.

New Scroll and Dwell Features added to iPadOS 13.3

iPadOS 13.3 has added new scroll gestures and dwell controls that can be assigned to your mouse buttons. These are for users who have been trying to use a mouse with their iPad since iPadOS was released.

Like/Dislike Buttons added back to Apple News in iOS 13.3

Apple had removed the ‘thumbs-up/thumbs-down’ icons from News app way back in iOS 12.2. It appears that with the new iOS 13.3, the feature to like/dislike a news story is back in the app.

The App reloading issue that was present in iOS 13.2 and was fixed in iOS 13.2.3 seems to be staying put. This is particularly true in the case of the YouTube app. It doesn’t refresh periodically on its own even when you keep the app up and running for hours. Hotspot issues, reported in previous iOS versions also seem to have been fixed with iOS 13.3 according to some users who were testing the beta versions of the software.

Bug Fixes and other improvements in iOS 13.3

According to iOS 13.3 Release notes, the following bugs and issues were addressed with this update:

This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements. This update:

• Enables the creation of a new video clip when trimming a video in Photos
• Adds support for NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-compliant security keys in Safari
• Fixes issues in Mail that may prevent downloading new messages
• Addresses an issue that prevented deleting messages in Gmail accounts
• Resolves issues that could cause incorrect characters to display in messages and duplication of sent messages in Exchange accounts
• Fixes an issue where the cursor may not move after long pressing on the space bar
• Addresses an issue that may cause screenshots to appear blurry when sent via Messages
• Resolves an issue where cropping or using Markup on screenshots may not save to Photos
• Fixes an issue where Voice Memos recordings may not be able to be shared with other audio apps
• Addresses an issue where the missed call badge on the Phone app may not clear
• Resolves an issue where the Cellular Data setting may incorrectly show as off
• Fixes an issue that prevented turning off Dark Mode when Smart Invert was enabled
• Addresses an issue where some wireless chargers may charge more slowly than expected

Backup your iPhone and then tap on Settings > General > Software update to get started with updating your iPhone to this latest release of iOS. Please let us know in the comments if you have any questions.