How was your break? Did you stuff yourself full of turkey? Did you shop until your mouse buttons shattered (after which you bought a new mouse)? Or did you simply exhale and relax a bit, knowing that there was nothing new to test? 

I was surprised when iOS 13.3 wasn't released last week before the testing hiatus. After all, given that this beta cycle has left us mostly in the dark, there's no way of knowing what, if anything, is left to poke and prod before we finally get the first beta of iOS 13.4. At the same time, pushing an update to everyone's phone before they hit the road to grandmother's house is going to upset more folks than it'll help. 

But now that we're nearly a week into December, it's time for Apple to rip off the bandage and push iOS 13.3 out the door. Especially since if they wait much longer, they'll be bumping up against the Christmas and New Years holidays (how are they so close already?). 

What's New

There's nothing new in this week's release notes, same as the release before that. It's nothing if not maddening for someone like me who likes to know every detail about what they're installing. 

Still, that doesn't mean the community hasn't figured out a few things. 

In Screen Time there's a new Communication Limitssetting. Instead of just setting time limits, you can specify who can be contacted. 

Don't like Memojis? Tired of seeing the Memoji keyboard next to your emoji keyboard? Now you can turn it off in Settings > General > Keyboard > Memoji Stickers.

If you use physical security keys to make sure no one can access your stuff but you, Safari now supports Lightning, USB, and NFC physical security keys.  

What's Broken

While iOS 13.3 has been boring, it's at least been stable. I have heard reports of minor glitches here and there, but they seem exceptionally situational. 

If you find a bug, report it, because you never know who you'll end up helping. Just remember that Apple developers aren't your ad hoc tech support. Just because you report it doesn't mean they're obliged to (or even can) fix it.   

What's Fixed

iOS 13.3 Public Beta 4 has nothing major that's broken and, therefore, nothing to fix. 

What's Next

With the simultaneous release this evening of the developer and public beta builds, I’d be shocked if Apple didn’t release iOS 13.3 to the general public next week. The only other alternative at that point would be to push a beta that, ostensibly, has nothing to test to a fifth release and then release to the public the week before Christmas. Then, it would make the most sense to wait until after the new year to start work on iOS 13.4.

I can't see the devs in Cupertino taking that much time off from the beta cycle, so my money is on a release next week, followed by an iOS 13.4 release the week after. The general public gets more stable iPhones, we beta testers get new code to play with. It's a win/win. 

Source: Forbes