iOS 16.3—Brilliant New iPhone Feature Arriving Next Week

Apple’s iOS 16.3 update is coming soon, along with a brilliant new iPhone security feature everyone should know about. Last month, I reported how Apple is boosting iPhone security by more widely allowing the use of keys—something the iPhone maker had already confirmed in an announcement.

Now it’s emerged that this feature is likely coming in iOS 16.3, as it’s included in the Beta version of the software.

When iOS 16.3 launches, it’ll include the ability to use security keys to protect your Apple ID and iCloud account. That means that from iOS 16.3, a physical key such as a Yubico YubiKey can be used as another layer of protection.

The new feature will be easy to use once you have a key—9to5Mac reports that once you authenticate the first time, you won’t have to do it again when setting up a new iPhone so long as you use the device-to-device set up process.

Reasons to use security keys in iOS 16.3

There are many reasons to use security keys in iOS 16.3—not least because they are a cool technology that really does help improve iPhone security. In iOS 16.3, security keys will replace the passcodes sent to your iPhone when logging into another device.

In case you aren’t familiar, security keys are a hardware-based token that people use for two-factor authentication. This is the “gold standard” of security on your accounts, consisting of a password and at least one other factor such as a hardware key or biometric such as Face ID or Touch ID.

Two factor authentication using security keys is one of the aims of the FIDO Alliance—of which Apple is a member—a group that wants to eradicate passwords altogether.

Security keys are one of the best ways to authenticate an account, says Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET. He says the physical protection offered by security keys allows people to securely log into their accounts with the confidence of knowing that malicious adversaries would “largely struggle” to compromise them.

“The only downside is that many people still do not either trust or understand the technology,” says Moore.

Security keys are especially important for “high profile or prominent people” such as journalists or politicians, says Moore. “Having confidence in communication is becoming more difficult as cybercriminals become more sophisticated in intercepting messages,” he warns.

Adding security keys in iOS 16.3 is simple—go to Settings > Password & Security > Add Security keys and follow the prompts.

Apple’s iOS 16.3 builds on features launched in iOS 16.2, including Advanced Data Protection, which sees end-to-end encryption expanded out to more iCloud categories—such as iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos.

So when will iOS 16.3 arrive? There is no way of knowing for sure, but the new iPhone software is on the second Beta version, having launched the first Beta in mid-December. Obviously, the holidays will have slowed things up a bit, so hopefully we will see iOS 16.3 in late February or early March. Keep an eye on my Forbes page for updates.

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Update 18 January 11:00 ET

Apple has confirmed that iOS 16.3 will arrive much sooner than people were expecting. As Forbes’ David Phelan writes, Apple let slip the approximate release date when announcing some cool additions to celebrate Black History Month:

“The Unity 2023 watch face will be available next week, and requires Apple Watch Series 4 or later running watchOS 9.3, and iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later running iOS 16.3,” the Apple announcement reads.