Skip to main content

iOS 7.0.3 released with iCloud Keychain, iMessage fixes, and cures for motion sickness

iOS 7.0.3 released with iCloud Keychain, iMessage fixes, and cures for motion sickness

Share this story

iPhone 5S 1024
iPhone 5S 1024

Apple has just pushed out a fairly significant update for iOS 7. Version 7.0.3 adds the iCloud Keychain feature to the mobile OS, which promises to help users create and easily fill in secure passwords for websites they visit through Safari. A standalone password generator has also been added to Safari to help you create secure logins. Separately, the lock screen will now wait to display "slide to unlock" when Touch ID is enabled; Apple clearly assumes users prefer using their fingerprint for authentication in this case.

According to the release notes, iOS 7.0.3 also restores the ability to search Wikipedia and the web from Spotlight. The update tackles several iMessage bugs, resolving one issue where messages failed to send, and fixes another bug that sometimes caused iMessage activations to fail. The accelerometer bug that iPhone owners have been complaining about also seems to have been addressed — at least to some extent.

Apple is also responding to ongoing reports of motion sickness caused by the many animations throughout iOS 7; the OS now gives users the option to cut back on motion even further. Essentially, it gets rid of most animations across the operating system. The below video from MacStories does a good job of showing how drastic the change is when "Reduce Motion" setting is enabled.

And finally, iOS 7.0.3 is said to fix the issue that let some students freely use "supervised" iPads for any purpose.

Apple's full list of fixes and additions follows:

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

  • Adds iCloud Keychain to keep track of your account names, passwords, and credit card numbers across all your approved devices
  • Adds Password Generator so Safari can suggest unique, hard-to-guess passwords for your online accounts
  • Updates lock screen to delay display of "slide to unlock" when Touch ID is in use
  • Adds back the ability to search the web and Wikipedia from Spotlight search
  • Fixes an issue where iMessage failed to send for some users
  • Fixes a bug that could prevent iMessage from activating
  • Improves system stability when using iWork apps
  • Fixes an accelerometer calibration issue
  • Addresses an issue that could cause Siri and VoiceOver to use a lower quality voice
  • Fixes a bug that could allow someone to bypass the Lock screen passcode
  • Enhances the Reduce Motion setting to minimize both motion and animation
  • Fixes an issue that could cause VoiceOver input to be too sensitive
  • Updates the Bold Text setting to also change dial pad text
  • Fixes an issue that could cause supervised devices to become un-supervised when updating software