iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 Beta 3 Features: What’s New

BY Sanuj Bhatia

Published 14 Jul 2021

iOS 15 beta 3 features

Nearly three weeks after the release of iOS 15 Beta 2, Apple released iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 Beta 3 to the developers today. Since iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 are still in the development phase, there are a lot of new features and changes in the third beta. Read all about them below.

The second beta of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 brought the new SharePlay feature. Even though we don’t have Universal Control yet, iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 beta 3 bring a lot of crucial bug fixes and features.

You can find the steps to install iOS 15 on your iPhone with a developer account here. You can also install iOS 15 on your iPhone using the beta profile method if you don’t have a developer account.

iOS 15 Beta 3 Features and Changes: What’s New

1. New Splash Screen in App Store

iOS 15 beta 3 App Store Splash Screen

iOS 15 Beta 3 brings a new splash screen for the App Store. Now, when you open the App Store for the first time on iOS 15 Beta 3, it lays out all the new features Apple has introduced in the App Store. These new features include in-app events in apps and games, the ‌App Store‌ widget, and Safari Extensions on iOS.

2. Search Screen in Safari, Many UI Fixes

Apple announced a redesigned Safari with a lot of features in iOS 15. The new Safari UI hasn’t been received very well and has always been the point of debate. Now, with iOS 15 Beta 3, Apple is bringing some crucial UI fixes to the Safari in iOS 15.

First of all, there’s a new search screen. Now, when you tap the address bar to enter the URL, it doesn’t go up to the top. Rather, it sticks right above the keyboard making it easier to access. Moreover, search suggestions appear above the address bar and it also suggests ‘top hits’ on the top of the screen.

Other than the redesigned Safari search bar, iOS 15 beta 3 also brings a lot of UI fixes. Earlier there were complaints that Apple had removed the ‘Reload’ button in iOS 15’s Safari. Well, now you can tap and hold on to the search bar for quick actions that has a new reload button. Even though it isn’t as convenient as before, it’s easier to reach.

3. New Icon for ‘Text from Camera’ in Keyboard

text from camera ios 15 beta 3

iOS 15 introduces a new feature called Live Text that helps you grab text from the real world straight onto your iPhone. However, whenever you tried to copy, paste anything in iOS 15 before, a huge chunk of space was occupied by the ‘Text from Camera’ button. Apple has changed the button from ‘Text from Camera’ to simply its icon now.

4. New Additions to the Focus Mode

Focus Mode is one of the biggest features of iOS 15. Apple is fine-tuning the feature before its stable release. iOS 15 beta 3 brings some changes to the Focus Mode like streamlining of text color in the Focus Mode menu, new icons, and relocated Focus Status and Phone Calls options.

5. Redesigned Apple Music Widget

iOS 15 beta 3 also brings redesigned Apple Music widget. Some even say that the new design is inspired by Spotify. Now, when you play or pause music from the widget, it will tell you its state by showing ‘Now Playing’ or ‘Paused.’ Moreover, the color of the widget will change to the color of the album you’re listening to.

6. Redesigned Reset iPhone Settings

transfer and reset iphone ios 15

Apple has renamed the ‘Reset’ setting in iOS 15 beta 3. Now, the ‘Reset’ setting is called ‘Transfer or Reset ‌iPhone‌.’ When you open the settings, there’s also a new screen that will guide you through to ‘Prepare for New iPhone.’ Don’t worry, the good old reset settings are still here. They are just down below from where it is usually expected to be.

7. Separate Buttons for Notifications

https://twitter.com/doney/status/1415369394977447937

Earlier in iOS 15, the two buttons for ‘Options’ and ‘Clear’ were stuck together. In iOS 15 beta 3, Apple has separated the two buttons and it is now easier to choose between the two options.

8. Private Relay Fixes

Apple introduced iCloud+ in WWDC 2021. The service entitles you to a Private Relay service that enables you to surf the web without thinking about fingerprinting and tracking. In earlier versions of iOS 15 betas, Private Relay was very buggy. Apple has fixed some of the issues with Private Relay in iOS 15 beta 3 and it doesn’t disconnect or connect arbitrarily anymore.

9. Wi-Fi Name Bug Fix

During the past few weeks, a weird iOS Wi-Fi name bug appeared. When you connected to these Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi would stop working on your iPhone. Apple has fixed the Wi-Fi name bug in iOS 15 beta 3, as with iOS 14.7 beta 5.

10. Install iOS Updates on Low Storage Space

Software Update:

Resolved in watchOS 8/iOS 15 beta 3: You can now update your device using Software Update if less than 500 MB of storage is available.”

According to the release notes of iOS 15 beta 3, Apple could allow you to install iOS and watchOS updates even if you have less than 500MB of space on your device. This new feature will come as a sigh of relief for Apple Watch Series 3 owners who are being forced to reset their wearable to free up storage space for OS update installation.


Found any other changes in iOS 15 and iPadOS beta 3 which is not mentioned above? Drop a comment and let us know!