Apple has released the first public beta of iOS 27, opening the software to adventurous users after three developer betas. The move puts the next version of the iPhone operating system in public hands now, with the final release still due in September.
The reason people are looking at the Apple iOS 27 Public Beta today is simple: it shows what is coming next, and what still will not arrive everywhere at once. In the U.S., Siri AI can be called with the "Hey Siri" command, by pressing and holding the side button, or by swiping down from the Dynamic Island. It can search documents, emails and photos on the device, answer questions about a website on the screen, suggest places and activities, and help create home automations.
Visual Intelligence is also part of the update, but not in the EU at launch. It lets a user point the camera at something and get information from Siri, including help with splitting a restaurant bill, checking business hours or identifying a plant or animal. On iPhones with the Camera Control button, the feature is available there; on phones without it, Apple says users can reach it through Control Center or by customizing the Action button or Lock Screen.
That regional split runs through the release. Siri AI is not available anywhere in the EU or China at launch, even as Apple pushes the public beta broadly. The limits reflect Apple’s dispute over AI with European regulators, which has kept some of the company’s newest features off the table in Europe and China from day one.
Apple also overhauled Child Safety in iOS 27, with easier setup, more granular control over apps and websites, and better screen time management. Communication Safety can step in before a child sees gore or violence in videos and images shared over Messages and FaceTime, while the new time controls let parents set detailed limits for Entertainment, Games and Social Media, or pause device use entirely.
The photo tools are more ambitious too. Clean Up removes unwanted objects with a tap or a gesture, Extend adds content around the edges of a photo, and Reframe changes the perspective. Image Playground is still here as well, though it had already been part of iOS 26 and previously leaned mostly toward cartoon-style images.
The public beta gives users a first look at the shape of iOS 27, but it also makes the release’s fault lines harder to miss. Apple is shipping its most visible AI features to some users now while holding them back in the EU and China, which means the most important question between now and September is not what is new, but where those new tools will actually be allowed to land.
