This week Apple revealed iOS 9.3 and it represents a seismic change in the company’s approach to education. But lost among all the upgrades in iOS 9.3 was a brilliant (and much needed) new feature which Apple chose not to mention in its release notes…
MacRumors has spotted that if you dig into the settings of iOS 9.3 (Settings > Cellular [Mobile Data in UK] > WiFi Assist) and just below the on/off toggle you will find Apple has now added data usage figures. Why is this so important? Because it may get Apple out of a class action lawsuit and potentially saves customers from massive carrier bills.
For those not in the know, WiFi Assist was introduced in iOS 9 and tries to help users maintain fast data connections by bolstering weak WiFi connections with their cellular data. This sounds good in principle, but victims have found they didn’t know when WiFi Assist was kicking in and had no easy way of seeing how much data was being consumed on their data plans without going to the carrier directly.
In Apple’s defence, WiFi Assist does not start automatically if the user is roaming abroad or for apps running in the background. It will also not be used to automatically download email attachments or stream audio and video. That said WiFi Assist will work if, for example, you’re using turn-by-turn directions in Apple Maps and the case for ‘Bill Shock’ remains.
