After three developer betas, Apple has released the first public beta of its mobile operating system, iOS 27. While the public beta is not yet final (it will be released in September), it is the first stable version that adventurers can try.
And they should give it a try, as iOS 27 brings a number of exciting new features and improvements, including a number of updated AI features.
We’ve been using the developer beta since day one and have analyzed every feature and improvement to see which ones really matter. Here’s our list of the seven best new features you should try right now.
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Before we start, there’s a big caveat: many of them, including the big ones like Siri AI, aren’t available anywhere in the EU or China due to Apple’s dispute over artificial intelligence with European regulators. Unfortunately, the timing of when they might become available is quite vague.
SEE ALSO:
These 29 iPhones Support iOS 27 and Public Beta: Is Yours on the List?
Siri AI
If you’re in the US, Siri AI will do the work for you, and you can access it by saying the voice command “Hey Siri”, pressing and holding the iPhone’s side button, or swiping down from the dynamic island at the top of the screen.
In addition to becoming smarter, Siri now also looks better.
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Once activated, you can use it to search documents, emails, and photos on your device, ask it questions about the website on your screen (or any general questions), get recommendations for places and activities, and easily create home automation. A detailed overview of Siri’s new features can be found here.
Visual Intelligence
Unfortunately, this device comes with the same caveat: it’s not available in the EU at launch.
It’s a shame, because it’s a cool feature that lets you point the camera at objects and get information about them from Siri. This includes splitting a restaurant bill, determining business hours, figuring out what plant or animal you’re looking for, and more.
Mashable Speed of Light
You can access visual intelligence by pressing and holding the Camera Control button or (if you have an iPhone that doesn’t have a Camera Control button) either through Control Center or by customizing the Action button or lock screen.
Child safety
Every parent knows what a nightmare parental controls can be. You think you’ve got everything set up correctly, only to discover that your child still has unlimited access to YouTube (and uses it without any restrictions).
Sometimes you just need a few simple options.
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In iOS 27, Apple has redesigned Child Safety features with easier setup, more granular control over apps and websites, and better screen time management. Communication Safety can intervene even before a child sees cruelty or violence in videos and images shared through Messages and FaceTime.
There are detailed time allocation options for several categories, including entertainment, gaming, and social media. Perhaps most importantly, there are now simple controls to either pause use of the device entirely or allow unlimited use.
Best Photo Editing
Not happy with the prospect of photography? Now you can change it after the fact.
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New photo editing tools with improved artificial intelligence are a great way to fix your photos, even those that turned out pretty bad. Three new tools available in the Tools section when you start editing a photo include Cleanup, which lets you remove unwanted objects with one tap or gesture. The Expand tool will automatically add content around borders using AI, while the Reframe tool lets you adjust the photo’s perspective.
New playground images
Yes, another thing that the EU doesn’t have. If you have it, that’s cool. Image Playground did exist before, in iOS 26, but the images it could generate were mostly cartoons or simple illustrations. Now you can also get photorealistic images.
Image Playground is no longer limited to cartoon images.
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If you don’t like the result, you can customize it by adding additional tooltips with the ability to pinpoint the part of the image you want to change.
Smart Shortcuts
I don’t know many people who use shortcuts, perhaps because the idea of manually setting up a chain of actions for your phone seems quite complicated.
However, in iOS 27, Apple has made this easier by adding the ability to describe a shortcut and automatically create one. To access it, open Shortcuts, click New Shortcut, and simply describe what you want the shortcut to do. Things like “Turn on the lights, turn on Do Not Disturb, and start playing my favorite album” should work.
Adjusting liquid glass
Too runny? You can change this.
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This is a small question, but it is important to many people. In Settings – Appearance, you can now specify exactly how crisp or shaded you want your fluid apps and UI elements to be in iOS 27.
Personally, I move the slider to the left for the clearest look, but people who want more readability rather than visual pizzazz may want to move the slider the other way for a more toned look.
Equalizer for AirPods
How long have we waited for this? With iOS 27, Apple has finally added detailed equalizer settings for AirPods.
However, finding these settings is a bit difficult. Once your AirPods are connected to your phone, go to Settings – Bluetooth, go to AirPods and tap the small “i” on the right. Then go to “Audio and Routing” – “Equalizer” – “Custom”. From here you can adjust the bass, mid and treble as you wish.