iOS 13.3 has been released with fixes for multitasking, communications limits in Screen Time, and more

While iOS 13.2 delivered the last of the features Apple promised when it first introduced iOS 13 back at WWDC, it’s not like the company is just going to kick back and relax until iOS 14 next year. We can expect at least one or two more point-releases with minor new features, and a few bugfix releases, as well.

iOS 13.2 brings a handful of minor interface tweaks, like the ability to disable memoji stickers suggestions in the emoji keyboard. It may also address the memory management issue reported by some users, where apps are too aggressively purged from memory and have to be reloaded often.

Updated 12/10/19: Apple has released iOS 13.3 and iPadOS 13.3.

How to get iOS 13.3

Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. 

Tap General.

Tap Software Update.

Follow the on-screen instructions. Your iPhone or iPad will download the update and restart.

What’s new in iOS 13.3

Multitasking Bug Fix: Some users have reported that iOS 13.2 aggressively releases applications from RAM, so you have to reload your apps far too often. Early reports suggest that iOS 13.3 addresses this over-aggressive memory management.

Communication Limits: In the Screen Time app, you can set limits for phone calls, messages, and FaceTime calls for children depending on who they’re talking to.

Memoji/Animoji Stickers: In Settings > General > Keyboard, you can now turn off Animoji and Memoji Stickers from being displayed on the Emoji keyboard.

Apple Watch app: The ‌Apple Watch‌ app icon’s Digital Crown is now gray instead of black.

Safari security key support: The Safari browser on iPhone and iPad supports FIDO2-compliant security keys that use USB, Lightning, or NFC.

Apple News: Some publications, like the Wall Street Journal, have a new layout, and it’s easier to like or dislike stories.

Release Notes

Apple’s official release notes for iOS 13.3 are as follows:

iOS 13.3 includes improvements, bug fixes and additional parental controls for Screen Time.

Screen Time

• New parental controls provide more communication limits over who their children can call, FaceTime, or Message.
• Contact list for children lets parents manage the contacts that appear on their children’s devices.

Apple News

• New layout for ‌Apple News‌+ stories from The Wall Street Journal and other leading newspapers.
• Easily like or dislike stories with a tap.

Stocks

• Stories from ‌Apple News‌ are now available in Canada in English and French.
• Continue reading with links to related stories or more stories from the same publication.
• “Breaking” and “Developing” labels for Top Stories.

This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements. This update:

• Enables the creation of a new video clip when trimming a video in Photos.
• Adds support for NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-compliant security keys in Safari.
• Fixes issues in Mail that may prevent downloading new messages.
• Addresses an issue that prevented deleting messages in Gmail accounts.
• Resolves issues that could cause incorrect characters to display in messages and duplication of sent messages in Exchange accounts.
• Fixes an issue where the cursor may not move after long pressing on the space bar.
• Addresses an issue that may cause screenshots to appear blurry when sent via Messages.
• Resolves an issue where cropping or using Markup on screenshots may not save to ‌Photos.
• Fixes an issue where Voice Memos recordings may not be able to be shared with other audio apps.
• Addresses an issue where the missed call badge on the Phone app may not clear.
• Resolves an issue where the Cellular Data setting may incorrectly show as off.
• Fixes an issue that prevented turning off Dark Mode when Smart Invert was enabled.
• Addresses an issue where some wireless chargers may charge more slowly than expected.