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Apple releases iOS 17.3 with Stolen Device Protection, AirPlay TV for hotel rooms

Apple has released the iOS 17.3 update to all users. It brings 2 new features: Stolen Device Protection, and AirPlay TV for hotel rooms.

Stolen Device Protection

This is a new security feature that can prevent thieves from breaking into your iPhone and Apple ID. When you enable Stolen Device Protection, you (or anyone) trying to perform certain actions will be required to use Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate the action. There is no passcode fallback for this feature, which means a thief who has stolen your phone cannot bypass the biometric authentication. You can turn on Stolen Device Protection from the Settings > Face ID & Passcode screen.

Stolen Device Protection in iOS 17.3

In addition to this, the feature has a Security Delay which will require Face ID or Touch ID. After an hour, the Security delay will require another biometric authentication, before allowing the user to make sensitive operations such as changing the device's passcode, or the Apple ID password. This can be useful to prevent thieves from resetting the password, and will allow you to mark the device as lost. The Security Delay is not required when your iPhone is in a familiar location such as your home, work, or where you frequently use the iPhone.

AirPlay TV for hotel rooms

You can use your iPhone on iOS 17.3 and later to stream or share content via AirPlay to a TV in your hotel room. It is quite similar to Google's Chromecast. To use the AirPlay TV feature with a hotel's TB, you will need to use your iPhone's camera to scan a QR code displayed on the television's screen to pair the devices. Apple has partnered with select hotels to support the feature, so it may not be available for guests immediately.

Other changes in iOS 17.3

Apple says it has optimized Crash detection on all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models. iOS 17.3 adds a new Unity wallpaper for the lock screen to honor Black History Month. Apple Music now supports collaboration on playlists, so you can invite friends to join your playlist. All members can add, reorder, and remove songs from the list. You can also use emoji reactions in collaborative playlists. Users can view the AppleCare & Warranty status for all devices connected with their Apple ID from the Settings > General > AppleCare & Warranty page. Tap on a device to view more details about the warranty, i.e. how long it is valid for.

iOS 17.3 is available for iPhone XS and later. iPadOS 17.3 is available for the following models: iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2nd generation and later, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 6th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later

The build number of iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 is 21D50. The updates ship with 15 security fixes, including a patch for an actively exploited issue related to WebKit. The bug - which was a type confusion issue -allowed processing of malicious web content, which could lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple says it addressed the issue with improved checks. The security patch has also been included in Safari 17.3 for macOS Monterey 12.7.3 and macOS Ventura 13.6.4.

Apple has also released macOS 14.3 Sonoma which ships with the same improvements for Apple Music and AppleCare and Warranty Status that I described above. The update includes bug fixes for 10 security issues, none of which were exploited by hackers.

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