macOS Sequoia 15.3 and iOS 18.3: what’s new (and fixed) macOS Sequoia 15.3 and iOS 18.3: what’s new (and fixed)

January 27, 2025, was a release day for Apple: the company gave the public next versions of all of the operating systems it develops. In this piece, we cover macOS Sequoia 15.3 and iOS 18.3: what is new in them, what has been fixed, and what bugs survived. The latter should be considered “as of this writing,” since it is possible that more glitches will be found and reported in these systems down the road, or fixed, for that matter.

macOS Sequoia 15.3: new features

  • Genmoji. Users can now create custom emoji characters using the Messages app and other applications. The feature is powered by Apple Intelligence.
  • Calculator. This could be put in the fixed bugs deck, depending on the viewpoint. In macOS 15.3, the calculator now repeats the last mathematical operation upon repeated pressing of the equals sign.
  • Notification management. Notification summaries (available on Macs with Apple silicon) got a control panel. Notification summaries for News & Entertainment apps, however, were brought offline entirely, pending fixing.

macOS Sequoia 15.3: known noteworthy bugs

  • Network connectivity. There are shoutouts from the users of Chrome/Chromium-based apps reporting problems with access to the Internet when connected to a Wi-Fi network. Nothing of the kind known about Safari, though.
  • iCloud and messaging. Users complain about repeated login prompts from FaceTime and iMessage, and incorrect interpretation of the items in the "Find My" app.
  • Firewall. In some cases, enabling the firewall resulted in a complete loss of network access, aggravated by the impossibility to modify firewall settings or add new entries.
  • System login. Some users claim they cannot sign in with their credentials after upgrading, a problem that may stem from some glitches in the account verification processes.

iOS 18.3: new features

  • Camera enhancements. iPhone 16 models now allow quick and simple adding of events to the calendar from posters or flyers, and can give information about plants and animals the camera is pointed at.
  • Notification summaries. Same as for macOS 15.3, Apple implemented a management screen for notification summaries in iOS 18.3. The summaries for News & Entertainment are temporarily gone here, too.
  • Calculator. Again, same as in macOS 15.3, the calculator app of iOS will repeat the last operation when the equals sign is tapped again.

iOS 18.3: known noteworthy bugs

  • Call connectivity. There’s a survey that revealed about 28% of iPhone users experienced call connectivity issues after upgrading iOS 18. Presumably, the issue persists in iOS 18.3.
  • Battery drain. This is another problem known since the release of iOS 18: the battery gets depleted more quickly than expected.
  • Unresponsive screen. Some users have reported the phone going unresponsive in the context of using certain apps or system features.
  • Disappearing keyboard. There are claims that the keyboard may disappear from the screen when a user tries to type in a request to Siri.

The new versions of Apple's flagship operating systems include over 20 security fixes patching critical vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited. This is reason enough to update, but, as common sense would have it, waiting a couple of weeks may be a wise decision.

For non-system apps, download and install MacInformer, a lightweight and free updater that keeps the programs on your Mac fresh, automatically.

Download MacInformer

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