iOS Decoded: iOS 18.3 RC new hidden features, changes and updates [Videos]

Today Apple pushed out the release candidate for iOS 18.3, this comes on the heels of last Thursday’s release of iOS 18.3 developer beta 3. In its release notes, Apple states that the update brings improvements to Visual Intelligence, along with the boilerplate “other enhancements, bug fixes, and security updates.”

But there’s much more than meets the eye when it comes to this iOS 18.3 release candidate. Beneath the surface, there’s new evidence of the upcoming iOS 18.4 Siri updates, future changes with screen recording/streaming, and new animations for Shortcuts and Messages. In this hands-on video, we take a look at what’s new in iOS 18.3 RC. Be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube for more iOS Decoded.

What’s new in iOS 18.3 Release Candidate

iOS 18.3 RC ships with build number 22D60 and was released to developers and public beta testers on January 21, 2025.

On the outside, iOS 18.3 isn’t as feature laden as previous releases, like iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2, but this is historically par for the course when it comes to x.3 iOS releases. That all being said, there are quite a few changes underneath the hood in iOS 18.3, and a fair share of user-facing updates as well.

Visual Intelligence

A new feature for iPhone 16 users lets you add an event to the Calendar from a poster or flyer, and easily identify plants and animals. I tested both, and they both worked as expected.

Notification Summary

Arguably the biggest “feature” in iOS 18.3 was revealed last week with the updated Notification Summaries. Apple is now making it super-clear that the feature is a beta, and in order to avoid issues with so-called AI hallucinations, it disabled summaries for the entire News & Entertainment app category. That’s a pretty drastic step, but it’s necessary given the type of false headlines that the feature was generating for prominent news services like BBC News and the New York Times. For more details, be sure to watch our full roundup on iOS 18.3 beta 3:

Calculator repeats the last mathematical operation

This feature appeared in previous iOS 18.3 betas, but it’s sure to be a hit once iOS 18.3 goes live to the public. Like you could with iOS releases prior to iOS 18, you can now continuously press the equals sign to repeat mathematic operations.

New zoom transition in Shortcuts also being worked on for Messages

iOS 18.3 hints at new transition animations for Shortcuts and the Messages app. Watch the video embedded at the top of the page for a hands-on look at the new Zoom animation in action. It’s a small, but nice change.

Hints at Apple Intelligence in Shortcuts

So far Apple Intelligence has not been integrated with Shortcuts, but it look as if Apple is working on this integration according to new strings found in iOS 18.3 code.

Upcoming screen recording / streaming features

It’s not yet live in iOS 18.3, but we’ve seen new details on upcoming screen recording and streaming features. In a future update users will be able to do the following:

Record using stereo microphone audio

Display a live camera overlay using picture-in-picture UI

Have HDR support for screen recording

9to5Mac’s Take

iOS 18.3, while not sporting headline features like the two previous big iOS updates, has quite a few significant changes. These include both user-facing features, and under-the-hood updates that hint at future iOS updates and hardware. We’ll be back next week with a full roundup of everything new once iOS 18.3 goes live to the public. In the meantime, share your thoughts below!

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