Apple hits Siri for Six with Cricket Knowledge and more in iOS 10.3

Apple has released a new software update for iOS devices this week – 10.2.1 with a range of security updates and bug fixes that every user should be installing immediately.  It’s what’s coming next that’s exciting.

While security updates are important, they’re a touch boring.  So in the next update Apple is introducing a couple of new features for users.

These features are now being tested by developers who have access to iOS 10.3, while a public beta trial will start soon.

In a month or two when iOS 10.3 is available to all, there’s two big things you can do.

Firstly, if you’ve got the new wireless Air Pods and you lose one at home – you can use the Find my Phone app to find it!

Now, it’s not going to find it in some random location across the city – but it will let you know where it is if it’s in Bluetooth range – much like the Tile device finders it uses Bluetooth and signal strength to determine if you’re getting hotter or colder in your search.

For cricket fans, Apple’s Siri voice assistant is finally taking an interest in one of our national sports.

When iOS 10.3 lands, you’ll be able to ask Siri about Indian Premier League rankings, general questions about your team, stats about players, fixture information and records.  It’s heavily researched on the IPL, and has all ICC data, so hopefully it’s working well for the next Aussie summer.  Timing seems strange, but it’s more for the IPL than Aussie summer let’s be honest.

There are also some CarPlay updates, adding shortcuts to the last two apps, up next info in Music and new ways to pick from song or album and artist.

The updates are with developers, expect it to be available generally around March.