GoKawiilApple released the public beta of iOS 27 on Monday, July 13, about a month after the company announced the upcoming iPhone software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. After living with the developer and public betas, I can confidently say the upcoming software is not astounding, but also not a huge disappointment.
The iOS 27 betas have a few useful new features that I enjoyed, like the big widgets. But there were an equal number of gimmicky features, like the new Reframe and Extend tools for photos. Despite the focus on AI and a revamped Siri, the software hasn't convinced me that I need, or want, those AI features. If, like me, you don't use generative AI regularly, a lot of this update might not feel all that useful. From my time with the developer and public betas, it feels like Apple did more fine-tuning under your iPhone's hood than anything.
It's important to remember the update is still in development, so if you want these features and can't wait until the OS's general release this fall, I recommend downloading iOS 27 on a phone other than your primary device. Features in the beta could be buggy and your battery life could be negatively affected.
Before the software's release in the fall, here are some features in the beta I've used almost every day and other features I wasn't impressed by.
My iPhone feels faster
I don't think I would have noticed this if I weren't interacting with multiple iPhones on different iOS versions, but the iOS 27 beta brings a lot of performance improvements to your device.
I initially downloaded the iOS 27 developer beta on my iPhone 14 Pro as soon as Apple released it. I didn't feel a major difference between that and my iPhone 16 Pro running on iOS 26.5 at the time. But I could feel the difference after installing the iOS 27 public beta on my 16 Pro. Unlocking my iPhone feels snappier, opening apps feels faster and switching between screens feels more fluid.
This isn't really a feature you can interact with and change, but it's important to note because it's central to how your iPhone behaves. It makes everything feel that much smoother on your device.
I like big widgets and I cannot lie
The iOS 27 beta also introduces another widget size option that takes up an entire screen on your iPhone. And honestly, I really like it.
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