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Apple iOS 9.3 Beta 3 Reveals Another Handy Feature

This article is more than 8 years old.

Earlier this week, Apple released iOS 9.3 beta 3 -- which contains a feature that was not revealed in the previous betas, according to 9to5Mac. The first beta of iOS 9.3 revealed a new Night Shift mode, smart education upgrades, additional 3D Touch shortcuts and the ability to lock Notes using Touch ID. And a Night Shift toggle was added to the Control Center in the second beta of iOS 9.3. But the third beta of iOS 9.3 includes a feature that is beneficial for Verizon subscribers: Wi-Fi Calling. But Verizon is late to the Wi-Fi Calling party because Apple iOS already supports it for AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

What is Wi-Fi Calling? Wi-Fi Calling lets you talk and send text messages over Wi-Fi if your cellular service is weak or not available in certain areas. After you set up Wi-Fi Calling, your phone will be able to automatically detect when it should be used. The Apple devices that support Wi-Fi Calling includes the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

Permission From The FCC For Wi-Fi Calling

Verizon requested permission from the FCC for native Wi-Fi calling on October 23, 2015, which is a couple weeks after AT&T started rolling out Wi-Fi Calling to its customers. Verizon’s waiver to the FCC requested “any applicable TTY-related requirements for its IP-enabled wireless services identical to and subject to the same conditions as the waiver” that was granted to AT&T.

T-Mobile and Sprint were already offering Wi-Fi calling at the time, but AT&T’s senior executive vice president-external and legislative affairs James Cicconi claimed those companies offered the feature without proper approval from the FCC. AT&T said that delays from the FCC on its waiver request put it behind its rivals for offering Wi-Fi Calling. AT&T wanted to offer Wi-Fi Calling on September 25, 2015 when the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S devices were released, but it was delayed until October 8, 2015. According to eWeek, Cicconi said that AT&T filed the waiver request in June but the FCC “sat on it for six weeks.”

Sprint launched Wi-Fi Calling for Android users in February 2014 and iOS users in April 2015. Apple first introduced Wi-Fi calling in iOS 8, which immediately worked on the T-Mobile USA network. Even though Verizon is the last major carrier to join the Wi-Fi Calling party, it is certainly better late than never. Since I am a Verizon subscriber, I am definitely looking forward to using this feature.

Other Major Features Included In iOS 9.3

Apple iOS 9.3 is expected to be fully rolled out to the public within the next couple weeks. The Night Shift feature in iOS 9.3 will adjust the color temperature of your display based on your location and time of day to reduce eye-strain. When iOS 9.3 is released, you will be able to add a password or fingerprint to Notes and sort your notes by date created, date modified or alphabetically. The News app in iOS 9.3 will be more personalized to better tailor your interests and videos contained within a story will be able to be played from the feed directly. And iOS 9.3 will have a major emphasis on education by adding features like Shared iPad for students, a new Classroom app, Apple School Manager and Managed Apple IDs. The third beta of Apple iOS 9.3 also includes a carrier update for T-Mobile users that fixes a bug preventing apps from loading on a cellular connection.

What are your thoughts about Verizon Wi-Fi Calling finally being added to iOS? Do you plan to use this feature? Please leave a comment!