New iOS 8.3 Release Date Download Arrives, New Features, Updates: Call Choice, Expanded Emoji Symbols, People Filter

Apple's release of its latest iOS 8.3 operating system has brought new capabilities to the company's new devices.

Among these new capabilities is the expansion made in emoji symbols which now have characters that are ethnically diverse. Also introduced are new symbols such as new flags.

The process of navigating to the additional emoji symbols has also been simplified. Now users can just press the smiley to open the panel on their iPhone. They can then press and hold an icon to view all the variants available for a particular emoji.

Also new in the iOS 8.3 is the ability to choose whether you want to make calls using Wi-Fi or your regular cellular network. If you are on EE network in the U.K. and Sprint or T-Mobile in the United States, you will be able to use this feature which can be turned on by changing settings under the Phone section.

Another new feature is the ability to filter unknown people who send messages to you via iMessage. Even if they have your Apple email ID and send you messages, you can navigate to Settings > Messages> and then choose Filter Unknown Senders to set up the filter and report such unwanted messages as spam.

Using Siri, you can make calls on speaker, something which was not available before. To use this, you need to specify "on speaker" when you instruct the digital assistant to place the call.

Finally, if you use CarPlay, iOS 8.3 does away with the need for using a cable to connect your phone or tablet to the car since it now allows for a wireless connection.