Here’s What’s New In iOS 12.3

Michael Grothaus 13/05/2019 – 9:18pm

Apple’s new TV app has arrived!

Back in March Apple unveiled an insane amount of new services at its annual Spring event. Those services include the new Apple News+ new subscription service, the Apple Arcade gaming subscription service, and Apple TV+, an Apple video subscription service.

Today the company released an updated iOS related to one of the biggest announcements at that March event: Apple’s TV subscription service. Now, no, Apple’s subscription service isn’t live yet, but with today’s iOS 12.3 update the company has launched the completely revamped TV app that that service will rely on.

iOS 12.3 is also significant because it’s a fairly major update to iOS 12—and almost certainly the last major update to the mobile operating system before Apple previews iOS 13 next month at WWDC. So just what new features does iOS 12.3 bring? Read on…

iOS 12.3: Apple’s New TV App

Without a doubt, the biggest feature of iOS 12.3 is the new TV app. Apple has completely revamped the TV app to make the user interface simpler and more appealing.

The new app now features three prominent buttons at the bottom of the screen: Watch Now, Library, and Search. Watch Now is the most important one as this is where users discover all kinds of content across multiple services on their device.

Watch Now itself is broken down into multiple categories including Up Next, which shows you what to watch next based on your video queues across various apps. There’s also a new Channels subcategory that allows you to subscribe to various streaming services right within the TV app and watch their content instantly.

Channels include Acorn TV, CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime, HBO, Nickelodeon, Mubi, Tastemade, Cinemax, Sundance, EPIX, Smithsonian, The History Channel Vault, and Comedy Central Now.

Over on the Library tab, you’ll see all the TV shows and movies you’ve bought through the iTunes Store as well as a list of ones you’ve downloaded for offline viewing. And best of all about the new TV app is it uses a new machine learning-based recommendation engine that serves up customized content suggestions based on your viewing history.

iOS 12.3: AirPlay 2

Another big feature of iOS 12.3 is that Apple has rolled out support for AirPlay 2. AirPlay 2 allows you to stream content from a Mac, iPad, or iPhone to a number of third-party smart television sets that support the technology.

Starting today, iOS 12.3 will work with Samsung smart TVs, with support for TVs from LG, Vizio, and more coming later this year. What's really cool about AirPlay 2 is that now people won’t need to buy an Apple TV if they want to stream from their iOS devices to their television at home.

iOS 12.3: Apple Music Gets Smarter

Finally, in iOS 12.3 Apple Music’s “For You” tab now updates multiple times throughout the day suggesting music based on themes like genres, artists, and moods. It’s not the biggest feature in the world, but a nice one if you’re a big Apple Music user.

The full release notes for iOS 12.3 can be seen below:

iOS 12.3 includes support for AirPlay 2-enabled TVs and features a redesigned Apple TV app. This update also includes bug fixes and improvements.

AirPlay 2
– AirPlay 2 now supports sharing videos, photos, music and more from your iPhone and iPad directly to your AirPlay 2-enabled smart TV
– One tap playback automatically plays your chosen TV show or movie on the last screen you used based on time and location
– Siri Suggestions to watch movies and TV shows now include an option to AirPlay
– Intelligent suggestions are all done on-device so your personal information stays private

Apple TV app
– The Apple TV app features an all new design that highlights expertly curated collections and personalized recommendations
– Apple TV channels offer subscriptions to HBO, Showtime, Starz, and more, available to watch directly in the Apple TV app, online or off
– Subscriptions to Apple TV channels can be shared with up to six family members, with no new apps, accounts, or passwords needed
– New release movies are available to buy or rent in the Apple TV app, including the full catalog of 100,000+ movies and the largest selection of 4K HDR titles
– A new dedicated kids section helps you discover editorially-handpicked shows and movies safe for kids of all ages
– The Apple TV app can now intelligently suggest playing to the most likely Apple TVs or AirPlay 2-enabled TVs nearby

This update also includes bug fixes and improvements. This update:
– Adds the ability to follow a magazine from the Apple News+ catalog browsing view
– Apple Music’s For You tab now updates multiple times a day suggesting music based on themes like genres, artists, and moods you love
– Fixes an issue that could prevent Apple TV Remote from pausing video, controlling video, or changing volume on supported receivers
– Addresses an issue that could cause calls made using Wi-Fi calling to drop
– Fixes an issue where song information from a connected iPhone may not appear in a car’s display