Apple launched iOS 9.3 on March 21 together with the iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7-inch. iOS 9.3 bought Apple users a host of great new features, including Night Shift, two-factor authentications, 3D Touch shortcuts and more.

If you are still on an old operating system, follow these steps to upgrade to iOS 9.3 to ensure you don’t continue to miss out on the latest features.

Here is a look at eight of iOS 9.3’s most useful features.

Night Shift

The Night Shift feature in iOS 9.3 helps to reduce the strain on your eyes when viewing your iPhone or iPad’s screen after sunset. With Night Shift, the bright white light that is perfect during the daytime will fade to a warm yellow for nighttime viewing.

Launch the Settings app > Display & Brightness > Night Shift. Either manually switch on the feature or tap Schedule so that Night Shift will automatically be switched on based on the time of day. Read our article for more details of how to enable Night Shift ‘From sunset to sunrise’ schedule.

Night Shift supports devices with 64-bit processors, including iPad Pro, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3 and iPhone 6 and newer.

By default Night Shift does not work when your device is in Low Power Mode, but with the launch of iOS 9.3.1 there is a way to enable both Night Shift and Low Power Mode simultaneously.

Two-factor authentication

For an added level of security for your iCloud account, Apple introduced two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication ensures you can only access your account on devices you trust. When you want to sign in using a new device, you will be required to provide both your password and a six-digit verification code that is displayed on your trusted devices.

To set up two-factor authentication, launch the Settings app > iCloud > tap your Apple ID > Password & Security > Turn on Two-Factor Authentication.   

Duplicate photos

A new Duplicate option allows you to make a duplicate of any of your photos. In the Photos app, select a photo > tap Share > tap Duplicate along the bottom of the screen.

If you have an iPhone 6s or later you can also create a high resolution still image from a Live Photo. In the Photos app, select a Live Photo > Share > Duplicate > select Duplicate as Still Photo from the prompt.

Secure Notes with a password and Touch ID

iOS 9.3 includes the ability to protect the information you have in your Notes app, like bank account details, medical information etc., with a password and Touch ID.

Select the note to secure > tap Share > Lock Note > if this is the first time you are securing a note you will need to enter a password and password hint. If you have an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus you can also toggle Touch ID to On.  

3D Touch shortcuts

iOS 9.3 also bought iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users a variety of 3D Touch shortcuts for Apple’s native apps including Settings, Weather, Compass, Health, App Store, iTunes Store, Stocks, and Calculator.

For example, use 3D Touch on the Settings app to quickly access battery, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings.   

Revamped News app

In Apple’s News app, iOS 9.3 brings improved curation of articles in the ‘For You’ section, as well as suggestions for trending topics and Editor’s Picks. Videos can be played directly in your feed, while there is also a new landscape mode for iPhone users and faster content updates.

While scrolling through new stories you can also swipe left to Like, Save or Share the article via Facebook, Twitter, text message, email, etc.

Apple Pay shortcut

For each card that you have loaded, the Wallet app provides a direct link to the company’s app. In the bottom left-hand corner, tap the small icon and you will be taken directly to the company’s app.  

Discover new health apps

Finding health and fitness third-party apps to add to your dashboard is simple with the introduction of a slider menu in the Health app. iOS 9.3 also introduced the ability to display move, exercise, stand data and goals from Apple Watch.

Image credit: iphonedigital; Flickr