Apple Seeds Second iOS 9.3 Beta to Public Beta Testers With Night Shift Control Center Toggle

ios93Apple today released the second beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3 update for public beta testers, just a few days after seeding the second iOS 9.3 beta to developers. iOS 9.3's second public beta comes a week after Apple released iOS 9.2.1, a minor update, to the public.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the second iOS 9.3 update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on their iOS device.

Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and OS X betas.


iOS 9.3 is a major update to the iOS 9 operating system, introducing a long list of new features and improvements. iOS 9.3's biggest new feature is Night Shift mode, which is designed to automatically cut down on the amount of blue light an iOS user is exposed to at night by shifting to more yellow tones for the iPhone or iPad's display. With iOS 9.3, there's a number of changes for educational users, and the iPhone is now able to pair with multiple Apple Watches.

The update also includes new 3D Touch Quick Actions for stock apps like Weather, Settings, Compass, Health, App Store, and iTunes Store, plus it introduces password protection for individual notes in the Notes app. News in iOS 9.3 includes in-line video playback, landscape mode on the iPhone, and more personalization, while the Health app introduces a new Apple Watch-style "Activity" interface.

Today's second beta includes support for a Night Shift toggle in the Control Center on iOS devices. Night Shift is denoted by a new eye-shaped icon in between the icons for the timer and the calculator on the iPhone. Tapping on the icon brings up options to turn the feature on or disable it until the next day.


A full list of changes in iOS 9.3 can be found in our "What's New" post. iOS 9.3 will launch to the public this spring.

Tag: iOS 9.3
Related Forum: iOS 9

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Top Rated Comments

Rogifan Avatar
125 months ago
what I'd really appreciate as a feature in future iOS releases would be a customisable Control Centre, i.e. being able to have the settings you use the most right there with a swipe up...
Mark Gurman claims this was in internal 9.3 testing at Apple so I wouldn't be surprised if we see it in iOS 10.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
procrastinasn Avatar
125 months ago
not sure why the toggle is bundled in with the "app" section of Control Center as opposed to the "settings" section. Doesn't make much sense
Flashlight isn't an app either? It's a toggle, isn't it?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
soanis Avatar
125 months ago
what I'd really appreciate as a feature in future iOS releases would be a customisable Control Centre, i.e. being able to have the settings you use the most right there with a swipe up...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zoboomafoo Avatar
125 months ago
Just give me low battery mode on the panel. ahhh.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bgro Avatar
125 months ago
not sure why the toggle is bundled in with the "app" section of Control Center as opposed to the "settings" section. Doesn't make much sense
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JetLaw Avatar
125 months ago
It makes absolutely no sense to have a control center toggle for a function whose tent pole feature is that it turns itself on and off automatically. I sure hope iOS 10 brings us some ability to customize the UI because Apple's sensibilities are increasingly different from my own. Not sure where I would go if I ditched iOS, but I'm activity looking at alternatives for the first time since the original iPhone came out.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)