Apple went through several iOS 27 betas, but those were only for developers. Now, the company has released the first public beta of iOS 27 – as well as public betas for the related iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, macOS 27 and tvOS 27. The stable release is coming this fall.
But if you want to get an early start, you can sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program and install version 27 on your device today. Which phones are supported? Apple didn’t drop compatibility, so if your phone runs version 26, it can run version 27 too. This means iPhone 11 or newer (including iPhone SE (2020) or newer).
iOS 27
iOS 27 polishes the new Liquid Glass design language, solving some of the biggest pain points. It will also make your phone faster – app startup times will drop 30%, Photos will load your library 70% faster and AirDrop transfers are 80% faster. Also, Apple says that it has made network transitions (between Wi-Fi networks or from Wi-Fi to 5G) smoother. Here is a more detailed look at what’s new with iOS 27.
Siri AI is the major feature this generation. You can use natural language to ask questions, perform actions and search your phone. There is a dedicated Siri app now too, which makes it easier to access the new features. Note that Apple is still fighting with the EU, so AI features will be limited in the bloc.
Siri AI
Note that while Apple fixed various issues during the developer beta testing period, this public beta still might have bugs that would be unpleasant for your daily driver phone. In other words, install at your own risk. Or you could wait for the stable release in a few months.
PS. While Apple didn’t remove support for older iPhones, that is not the case for Macs – the last Intel-powered Macs that got macOS 26 can’t update to version 27. Only Apple Silicon models are supported. As for iPads, several older models were dropped. The following models can run iPadOS 27: iPad mini (2021) or newer, a vanilla iPad (2021) or newer, an iPad Air (2020) or newer and an iPad Pro (2020) or newer. More details here.