iOS 11.3 is live now, complete with new battery features
Turn off that throttling function, if you want.
Apple launched iOS 11.3 this morning, bringing updates to ARKit, introducing Health Records and, most notably, adding new battery features. The update comes just a few months after Apple drew public scorn for its practice of slowing down processor speeds on iPhones with aging batteries, and the new indicators help address users' concerns about throttling and artificial breakdowns.
With today's update, iOS will show the battery health of an iPhone and recommend if it needs to be serviced -- this applies to iPhone 6 and later. Plus, users are now able to turn off the management feature that reduces an iPhone's processing power -- this applies to iPhone 6, 6 Plus, SE, 6s, 6s Plus, 7 and 7 Plus.
IOS 11.3 updates the iPhone's AR functions, allowing apps to read vertical surfaces like walls and doors, and irregular objects like chairs or circular tables. There are also a handful of new Animoji available today: lion, bear, dragon and skull.
The other big update is the addition of Health Records, a portal that allows patients of more than 40 health systems to view their medical records on their iPhone. These systems include Duke, Yale, Stanford and NYU Langone.
Apple is also getting in on the privacy conversation. A new icon -- two blue silhouettes shaking hands -- will appear every time an Apple feature asks to use your personal information. This isn't something the company detailed in the teasers for iOS 11.3, but it's certainly timely. The conversation about digital privacy is raging, following the news that Facebook allowed Cambridge Analytica, a British political-consultation group, to mine data from 50 million accounts without user permission.
