iOS 8.3 is out with racially diverse emoji, new Siri languages, and more

By

A new day, a new iOS bug...
iOS 8.3 is here. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple released the third major update to iOS 8 today with the public launch of 8.3, which brings a host of new features to iPhones and iPads.

The iOS 8.3 update is available as an over-the-air update or via iTunes. Some of the new features include racially diverse emoji, two-factor authentication for Google, new Siri languages, and tons of bug fixes.

Here’s a run down of the biggest features you’ll find:

Diverse emoji

emoji-picker2

Almost all of the human emojis can be modified – including minor ones like surfer, swimmer, and runner – but Apple still hasn’t added the skin tone modifiers to the family emojis.

Wireless CarPlay

carplay-wireless

A new CarPlay section has been added to the Settings menu that makes it easier to set up CarPlay wirelessly. If you have a car that supports wireless CarPlay, you can now press and hold the voice-control button on your steering wheel to start the CarPlay setup process.

New Emoji layout

scroll-emoji

Consistent with the update just rolled out in OS X 10.10.3, Apple has put all emojis on a single scrollable page. All the emoji are still divided into sections, but you won’t have to jump around looking for the perfect pictogram to go with your text.

Google Two-Factor authorization

google-twofactor

Support for Google’s two-factor login has been added for iOS users that prefer Gmail and Google Calendar.

Apple Pay for China

applepay2
This is only big news if you live in mainland China, but iOS 8.3 finally adds support for Apple Pay on UnionPay, bringing Apple’s mobile wallet to the country with the most iPhone 6 owners in the world.

New Siri languages

Siri speaks even more languages in iOS 8.3. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Siri speaks even more languages in iOS 8.3. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The full list of new languages for Siri includes Russian, Danish, Dutch, Thai, Turkish, Swedish and Portuguese. In addition to learning these, the virtual assistant also supports more English-speaking regions, such as New Zealand.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.