iOS 17.3 Beta With Stolen Device Protection, Collaborative Playlists on Apple Music Rolling Out

Apple on Tuesday began rolling out iOS 17.3 beta to testers, a day after the stable version of iOS 17.2 was released for eligible iPhone models. The first beta of company next update is expected to be the last one before the holiday season, and once again includes support for an Apple Music feature that was excluded from iOS 17.2. Meanwhile, Apple is also testing a feature that makes it difficult for thieves to gain access to your personal account via a stolen device.

After updating to the latest iOS 17.3 beta, testers will be able to try out Apple's new Stolen Device Protection feature that requires the use of biometric authentication (Touch ID or Face ID) to make account related changes on an iPhone, like disabling Lost Mode or accessing personal information such as iCloud Keychain passwords, according to the company.

The iOS 17.3 beta update is available for eligible iPhone models

Disabling features like Face ID, your Apple ID or iPhone passcode, and other critical security features will not only require verification, but Apple will also make you wait one hour before these settings are accessible, as part of security changes implemented to prevent thieves from gaining access to your account by learning your passcode and then stealing your device.

With the iOS 17.3 beta update, Apple has also added support for another feature that was announced earlier this year but is yet to make its way to users on the stable channel — Collaborative Playlists on Apple Music. Testers who have updated to iOS 17.3 beta 1 can look for the person icon next to a playlist and contribute to their friends' playlists.

It is worth noting that the inclusion of Collaborative Playlists on Apple Music on the first iOS 17.2 beta is not an indicator of whether the feature will arrive with the stable iOS 17.3 release. Apple previously tested collaborative playlists on beta versions of iOS 17.2, but the feature was pulled in the final version that rolled out to users on Monday. However, it is evident that iOS users who are not on the beta release channel will have to wait until early 2024 to try out these new features.