Apple released the iOS 27 public beta today, bringing Siri AI, performance improvements, and new Apple Intelligence features. The beta is notably stable compared to prior years, though Apple advises against installing on primary devices. Performance gains are immediate across all iPhones—animations, app launches, AirDrop, and keyboard responsiveness are snappier than iOS 26, and even older models feel faster.

Siri AI receives a total overhaul, now functioning like ChatGPT or Claude with back-and-forth conversations and private access to messages, emails, photos, and apps. It can create home automations, find specific content, manage files, analyze screen content, and search the web. Visual Intelligence moves to the Camera app with new capabilities like nutritional analysis and receipt splitting. Write with Siri offers system-wide text generation, tone adjustment, and grammar fixes.

Other highlights include improved Photos Clean Up with AI border extension, Passwords app auto-updating weak credentials, Safari custom extensions via natural language, HomeKit Secure Video 2K/4K recording with AI descriptions (requiring 2TB iCloud+), and custom EQ for AirPods Pro 3 and other models. Shortcuts now builds automations from natural language descriptions.

Install via beta.apple.com, then Settings > General > Software Update. Always back up first. The software remains beta with ongoing refinements; final release arrives in September.