Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of iOS 10.3 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Now Available]

by

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming iOS 10.3 update to developers, just over one week after seeding the fourth beta of iOS 10.3 and almost three months after the release of iOS 10.2, the last major update to the iOS 10 operating system.

Registered developers can download the fifth iOS 10.3 beta from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air with the proper configuration profile installed.

ios-10-3-beta
iOS 10.3 is a major update, introducing several new features and changes to the iOS 10 operating system. The biggest new consumer-facing feature is "Find My AirPods," which is designed to help AirPods owners locate a lost earphone. Find My AirPods records the last known location of when an AirPod was connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth and can play a sound on a lost AirPod.

Apple's latest update also introduces a new Apple File System (APFS), installed when an iOS device is updated to iOS 10.3. APFS is optimized for flash/SSD storage and includes features like strong encryption.

Apple plans to introduce some App Store changes in iOS 10.3, allowing developers to respond to customer reviews for the first time. iOS users are also able to label reviews in the App Store as "Helpful" or "Not Helpful," which should help surface the most relevant review content.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Apple also plans to limit the number of times developers can ask for a review, allow customers to leave app reviews without exiting an app, and provide a "master switch" that will let users turn off all app review request prompts.

Also new in iOS 10.3 is a redesigned app open/close animation, an Apple ID profile in Settings, a better breakdown of iCloud storage usage, warnings about outdated apps that won't work with future versions of iOS, HomeKit support for programmable light switches, improvements to SiriKit (bill paying, bill status, and scheduling future rides), CarPlay interface improvements, iCloud analytics options, and more.

Update: iOS 10.3 beta 5 is also available for public beta testers.

Related Forum: iOS 10

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Read Full Article • 240 comments
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
Read Full Article • 14 comments
ios 19 messages app

Here's What Apple's iOS 19 Messages App Might Look Like

Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...
Read Full Article • 93 comments
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
Read Full Article • 30 comments
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Read Full Article • 116 comments
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
Read Full Article • 277 comments
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Read Full Article • 105 comments
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...
Read Full Article • 132 comments

Top Rated Comments

AppleFan91 Avatar
AppleFan91
105 months ago
For those that will ask:

• We don't know about battery life
• No Dark mode
• Safari isn't snappier

(Hopefully, this is the last one before a public release, I love the speed improvements of this release so far)
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Floris Avatar
Floris
105 months ago
• We don't know about battery life
• Don't believe anyone that says Dark mode
• Safari isn't snappier


There I think that takes care of those posts.

(Hopefully this is the last one before a public release, I love the speed improvements of this release so far)
Sorry, but saying "oh here we go with those msgs", is on the same level as "what about dark mode" comments..
they're obvious and filling the thread with useless offtopic content.
this reply i just made, probably adds to that :D
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleFan91 Avatar
AppleFan91
105 months ago
Five betas is kinda scary for a point upgrade.
Don't turn on the news.


Also, this is not uncommon lately. Most of them are going 5-7. I much prefer this method in comparison to no betas or 1 or 2 and a flawed release personally.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
C DM
105 months ago
Five betas is kinda scary for a point upgrade.
Not really unusual, and certainly pretty far from anything like scary.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imnotthewalrus Avatar
imnotthewalrus
105 months ago
Five betas is kinda scary for a point upgrade.
How so? Before the beta program, there was always a "risk" of jumping on a new iOS release. I personally am glad to see Apple giving developers and PB users an opportunity to have a sneak peek and offer feedback while others can just keep an eye on it to see whether they want to upgrade or not when the GM is released. Multiple betas should be good news (that bugs are being discovered and fixed prior to official release), not "kinda scary". Just my two cents.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
C DM
105 months ago
so for the 99.999% of owners who don't have airbuds this update will mean nothing.
If the rest of the things that are changed are also not counted.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments