Apple has announced that the iOS 17.3 and watchOS 10.3 updates will be available in the week beginning January 22, 2024.
Messages in iOS 17
Following a third developer beta of iOS 17.3 on January 9, 2024, Apple has made an early announcement of the update being officially released "next week."
Apple made the announcement in a footnote to its launch of the Unity Bloom iPhone and iPad wallpaper, which reportedly require iOS 17.3.
As well as this support, iOS 17.3 brings fixes to HDR videos that were being blown out, plus other improvements. The most visible element of the update is the addition of full performer and composer credits for songs in the Apple Music app.
A beta version of the OS update was previously pulled by Apple after it locked up some iPhones.