Apple has today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 to the public, bringing an improved experience when switching to Android, and a few other changes.
Resolved VoiceOver Bugs
Our experience is that the following accessibility bug has been resolved in iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3:
New VoiceOver Bugs
We are currently aware of one new VoiceOver bug in these releases:
An Issue with Dictation
While not a VoiceOver/braille/low-vision issue specifically, we did want to take this opportunity to share that multiple members of our team have observed a significant degradation in the reliability of dictation in iOS 26.3. A Feedback report has been filed. It is currently unclear to us whether this issue extends to Siri and whether it is something Apple can resolve server-side; we recommend that if you rely on Dictation, you do not install this update until the issue is resolved.
If you notice any further changes, improvements, or regressions in your use of these releases, please post a comment below with your findings.
iOS 26.3 Release Notes
This update provides important bug fixes and security updates.
For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit: https://support.apple.com/100100
Some features may not be available for all regions. For more information, please visit: https://www.apple.com/os/ios
Software updates, like this one, add new features and improvements that may affect performance and/or battery life. To learn more, please visit: https://support.apple.com/125039
How to Update
iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 are available via Over-the-Air Update (Settings > General > Software Update), via Finder on a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, or via iTunes on a PC or Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier.
Before updating, we strongly recommend making a full and complete backup of your device (either locally or in iCloud, depending on personal preference). This will ensure that, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong during the update process, you will have a current backup on hand in case a device restore becomes necessary. Also, if using OTA update, we recommend plugging your device into a power source for the duration of the download/installation process, so as to prevent the unlikely event of your battery going dead during the update.
The original version of this article incorrectly stated that these updates included an improved experience when switching to Android and notification support for third-party smartwatches in the European Union. AppleVis regrets the error.
Upon further investigation, we've determined that while notification support for third-party smartwatches in the European Union is not present in iOS 26.3, the improved experience when switching to Android (Settings > General > Transfer or reset > Transfer to Android) is. AppleVis regrets the error.
Comments
The notification bug description
Hi, so the notification bug is that when you’re reading something with VoiceOver and you’re on the lock screen, it will not finish reading the notification. It will lock the screen before the notification has a chance to finish. So in order to get around that you have to put in your passcode or Face ID to unlock your screen to finish reading the notification that you get. This happens in the case of all the apps that I’ve added in anyway is with mail and messaging because of the native Apple apps for this. It probably happens with other ones as well. Desire you probably have it a lot of a stew. I believe this bug showed up in either iOS 18.4 or iOS 18.5. Hope that description helps you. We just have to keep reporting the book to Apple. I’m sure they’ll fix it as soon as I can.
The notification bug solution I use in iOS 18.7.2
I don’t lock my iPhone Except when I want silence or don’t care to receive notifications
Olivier
The interesting thing is if you get siri to read it, will do so from beginning to end and if you set up where siri reads it by going to setting, accessibility, and siri and select speker it will read it. VO does not do so. Therefore is a bug. I would consider it a major bug for us. Long live cats and not apple.
@Olivier
You might want to go back and edit your post. It looks like the website glitched out on you, and your post, reposted itself, about four or five times. 😅
Can finally disable USB accessory trust
At some point in the past, possibly for the update to 26.0.1, I disabled all USB accessory protections on all my 4 iOS devices, because of an alleged problem with VoiceOver not reading anything after the update and thus making entering the device passcode inaccessible, which would require plugging in a wired keyboard to work around if I ended up facing that problem myself. While that problem did not manifest for me, after the update I found myself unable to re-enable those protections due to alleged organization restrictions, which is definitely not my case since all my devices are personal, were acquired directly from Apple, have no profiles installed, and are carrier-unlocked from the origin, so and because I wasn't feeling like resetting my settings or enabling Lockdown Mode, I've been using my devices in this insecure state since 26.0.1.
After updating my devices to iOS and iPadOS 26.3, I decided to test whether these USB device trust protections could be re-enabled and noticed that the bug is finally fixed. Now there are 4 levels of protection, with the most restrictive always prompting to trust USB devices, a second level that only requires trusting unknown USB devices, a third option that automatically trusts USB devices when the system is unlocked, and a fourth option which is to just trust everything. I'm not exactly sure when this was fixed, but I do remember checking for a while and then just giving up hoping that Apple would eventually bother to address this issue.
no option for me
When I go to FaceID and Passcode settings there is no more option for USB connections. Instead there is an option for healt training data, where is this option gone?
Privacy & security
The USB trust settings are located in the Privacy & Security section of Settings on iOS and iPadOS.
@Marconius
I was just wondering why I was hearing that sound of the keyboard opening over and over again in Notes. Glad to hear that's fixed because it was kind of annoying. I didn't know what it was at first.
Retraction
The original version of this article incorrectly stated that these updates included an improved experience when switching to Android and notification support
for third-party smartwatches in the European Union. AppleVis regrets the error.
Clarification
Upon further investigation, we've determined that while notification support for third-party smartwatches in the European Union is not present in iOS 26.3, the improved experience when switching to Android (Settings > General > Transfer or reset > Transfer to Android) is. AppleVis regrets the error.