Technologies

iOS 16.3: Best iPhone Features to Try Now

New features are really what updates are all about.

Apple released iOS 16.3 in January, and the update brought some much needed bug fixes and security updates to make your iPhone run more smoothly. The update also brings some useful new features to your iPhone, like security keys and an update to emergency SOS via satellite.

The iOS 16.3 update was released alongside updates for other Apple software, too, like iPadOS, Safari and previous versions of iOS. The latest iOS update arrived about a month after the release of iOS 16.2.

Here are the new features landing on your iPhone with iOS 16.3.

Security keys come to Apple ID

Users can now use third-party security keys instead of two-factor authentication for their Apple ID.

Security keys are a lot like keys to your home. You still use passwords, but this extra layer of security can help protect you against phishing scams and hackers.

Security Keys screen in iOS 16.3 beta — Security keys add more protection to your device.

Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET

«Hardware security keys are very, very secure,» Diya Jolly, chief product officer of authentication service company Okta, told CNET’s Stephen Shankland.

Apple’s security keys feature only works with FIDO Alliance-certified security keys.

Support for the second-gen HomePod

Apple’s iOS 16.3 software adds support for the second-generation HomePod, which is out now and costs $299 (£299, AU$479). Apple announced the release of the new HomePod four days before the latest iOS software was made available.

New Unity wallpaper for Black History Month

A green, black and red wallpaper — Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET

The latest iOS update includes a new iPhone wallpaper as part of Apple’s Black Unity Collection. The collection celebrates Black History Month with a special-edition Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop, a mosaic watch face and the new iPhone wallpaper. Apple also plans to release a selection of Black History Month content for Apple TV, Fitness Plus, Music, Maps, Books, Podcasts and the App Store as part of the collection.

New ways to use Emergency SOS via satellite

Emergency SOS via satellite was introduced at Apple’s event in September. In iOS 16.3, the Call with Hold option has been replaced with Call with Hold and Release. If you enable Call with Hold and Release, you can hold the side button and a volume button to initiate a countdown and an alarm. After the countdown, you release the buttons and your iPhone will call emergency services on its own. Before with Call with Hold, pressing the side button and a volume button would first bring up the Emergency SOS call slider. If you continued to hold the buttons, a countdown started and an alarm would go off. After the countdown ended, your phone would make an emergency call.

There’s also an option to Call Quietly in Emergency SOS. By enabling this option, when you try to make an emergency SOS call, your phone won’t start flashing or making an alarm sound.

Here is Apple’s list of new features and changes included in iOS 16.3:

New Unity wallpaper honors Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month.
Security Keys for Apple ID allow users to strengthen the security of their account by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process on new devices.
Support for HomePod (second generation).
Emergency SOS calls now require holding the side button with the up or down volume button and then releasing in order to prevent inadvertent emergency calls.
Fixes an issue in Freeform where some drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards.
Addresses an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen.
Fixes an issue where horizontal lines may temporarily appear while waking up iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status.
Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests.
Resolves issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly.

New iOS Tech Makes It Super Hard to Hack Your iCloud Login

See at CNET

For more iOS 16 news, see what new features were added in iOS 16.2 and iOS 16.1. Here’s how you can sign up to test Apple’s iOS beta software, too.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 16, #439

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 439 for May 16.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Todays NYT Strands puzzle has a tie-in to a big event that’s happening around the country at this time of year, Maybe you’re already getting the photo announcements in the mail. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: To a degree.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Pomp and Circumstance.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DICE, PLOT, ROLE, ROOT, SPIT, SPITE, SPOT, GOES, SANE, CLOT, HOOD, RIOT, SATE, PITA, POOR, HOOP, TOPS, ROTE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GOWN, PHOTO, DIPLOMA, TASSEL, SPEECH, PROCESSION

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is GRADUATION. To find it, start with the G that’s the bottom letter in the far left column, and wind up.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 16, #235

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 235, for May 16.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition is a bit tricky today. Hope you know your French athletes! Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Not last.

Green group hint: College conference.

Blue group hint: Oui oui!

Purple group hint: Top hoopsters.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: In front of.

Green group: ACC schools.

Blue group: French star athletes, past and present.

Purple group: Last 4 WNBA No. 1 picks.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is in front of. The four answers are ahead, leading, on top and up.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is ACC schools. The four answers are Duke, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Virginia.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is French star athletes, past and present. The four answers are Henry, Parker, Wembanyama and Zidane.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is last 4 WNBA No. 1 picks. The four answers are Boston, Bueckers, Clark and Howard.

Technologies

Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Get Smarter for Low Vision Users. Here’s How

Meta shared multiple announcements for Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

If you haven’t heard, AI now has eyes, and Meta has announced some enhancements for its Ray-Ban Meta glasses. You can now customize Meta AI to give detailed responses based on what’s in the surrounding environment for your smart glasses, Meta said in a blog post for Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

Artificial intelligence is opening a whole new world for accessibility, with new features coming out in droves. Tech giants like Google, Apple and Meta are putting forth a ton of effort to create a world where people with disabilities, such as low or no vision, can more easily interact with the world around them.

While Live AI for the Meta glasses has been around, the additional enhancements for low vision users will undoubtedly be welcomed.

Below are some of the other highlights from Meta’s accessibility-focused blog post. For more, check out the glimpse of brain accessibility features headed to Apple devices.

‘Call a volunteer’ feature expanding to 18 countries

While not an AI-focused feature, the Meta and Be My Eyes feature, Call a Volunteer, will soon be expanding to all 18 countries that Meta AI is currently available in. Launched in November 2024 in The US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia, the expansion of Call a Volunteer will be a very handy (and hands-free) feature for low vision users.

Once set up, a Meta glasses user can simply ask AI to «Be My Eyes.» From there, you’ll be connected to one of over 8 million volunteers that will be able to view the live camera stream from your glasses and provide real-time assistance for whatever you need help with. The feature will be available to all supported countries later this month.

Meta additional research and accessibility features

Meta also detailed some of its existing features and research taking place in its effort to expand accessibility for its products, especially in the extended reality space.

Features like live captions and live speech are currently available on devices like the Quest, Meta Horizon and Horizon Worlds.
Also shown was a WhatsApp chatbot from Sign-Speaks that uses its API and Meta’s Llama AI models. The chatbot allows live translation of American Sign Language to text and vice versa to create easier communication between deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

For more, don’t miss the handful of new accessibility features announced by Apple.