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iOS 8.3 released with Siri & Emoji enhancements

Apple has released the latest iteration of its mobile and tablet operating system.

iOS 8.3 has two key focuses: additional language support for its virtual assistant Siri, and a more racially diverse Emoji set.

The additional languages include Russian, Danish, Dutch, Portu­guese­, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and English (for the Indian version).

Racial diversity in Emojis has been planned for awhile now – and now users can access them in iOS 8.3. If you haven’t added the Emoji keyboard yet, this can be done by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Add New Keyboard then scroll down the list and tap on Emoji to add it.

On top of the above there were the usual rounds up bug fixes and clean ups as well as performance improvements on various areas like app launch, app responsiveness, Wi-Fi, Control Center and third-party keyboards. More details on these are on Apple’s changelog for iOS 8.3.

Finally, though not specifically mentioned on the link above, additional Wi-Fi calling support has been included for Sprint in the US and EE in the UK.

Wi-Fi calling was added in iOS 8, and allows users to make calls over Wi-Fi rather than using their provider’s cellular network. Until now, only T-Mobile in the US supported this on the iPhone, but now its reach is expanding.

If you’re on either of these carriers you can enable this feature by first updating to iOS 8.3. To do this go to Settings > General > Software Update and tap install.

Once its finishing installing, enable Wi-Fi calling by going to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calls and then toggle the Allow Wi-Fi Calls option.

Next: Read our big feature about Emojis – their history, and their future