I’ve Been Using iOS 27 Beta for Two Weeks — Here’s What I Actually Think

So I’ve been running iOS 27 beta on my iPhone 17 (if you’re still deciding which one’s for you, I covered that here) Pro since it dropped on June 8th — I am two weeks in now — and I want to give you my honest take on what it’s actually like to live with, because if you’re anything like me, you don’t want a spec list. You want to know whether it’s actually worth your time.

First things first: the beta itself has been really, really stable. Like, genuinely surprised me stable. I was fully expecting battery drain, the odd crash, general roughness — and it just hasn’t happened. Battery life has been brilliant, honestly. I haven’t seen any real degradation at all across two weeks of using it daily, which is not what I was expecting when I downloaded it. So if that’s what’s been putting you off, it might not be the barrier you think it is.

Apple also claim that iOS 27 makes the phone faster. Hand on heart? I can’t say I’ve noticed — but to be fair, it was already super quick, so maybe that’s just a good problem to have. What I can say is that two weeks in, I’ve seen barely any bugs. It’s been a really, really solid beta experience.

The one bugbear — and it was a proper bugbear — is that I had to wait over a week to actually get access to the new Siri. You install the beta, you see the Siri AI section, and then you’re just… on a waitlist. To be fair, it’s a developer beta at the end of the day, so you know it’s to be expected. But when that’s the headline feature you’re excited about, waiting 8+ days is a bit frustrating.

Anyway. Once I got access — here’s where it gets interesting.

THE SIRI STUFF IS ACTUALLY REALLY, REALLY GOOD

So basically, what’s changed with Siri is that it now actually understands your life. It can go into your emails, your calendar, your messages, and pull information out of them in a way that feels genuinely useful.

I’ll give you a real example. I asked Siri what was coming up for my daughter’s school over the next couple of weeks. It went through my emails, pulled back a careers day and a sports day, and I was then able to add both straight into the calendar I share with my other half. The whole thing took maybe 30 seconds. No need to switch apps, no hunting through emails, I just asked, and Siri sorted it for me. That’s really, really great, and it’s the kind of thing that sounds small, but you notice every single day. If you’re juggling a side hustle, work, a life and an inbox full of things you haven’t had time to action yet — this is genuinely for you.

The other thing I used it for recently: we had an appointment for our daughter, and I needed the address. So I asked Siri to pull up the details of the appointment — and it came back with the time, the date, and where it is. I was then able to send that straight to Liam via Messages, through Siri, on my behalf. Start to finish, probably 15 seconds. I was also able to pull it back up later and get the direction straight in my maps app, ready to drive to. 

That’s the moment iOS 27 clicked for me, honestly. Not the keynote, not the Apple webpage — just that moment of realising my phone is actually, properly working for me now.

THE VISUAL STUFF — YOUR PHONE FEELS LIKE YOURS AGAIN

Beyond Siri, there are some changes that I’ve been noticing day-to-day, even if they’re not grabbing headlines.

The Weather app has had a redesign, and I actually love it. You get a highlight section at the top with the key information regarding the day’s weather. There is also the addition of 3 tabs in the condition sections, going between temp, rain and wind, no more scrolling to the bottom.

Widgets have changed too — you can now have full-screen widgets, which opens up a lot more flexibility for how you lay out your home screen. And the wallpaper has had an update as well: you can set your own colour, though it obviously stays within the iOS visual style. Combined with some nice tweaks in the home screen editing, it genuinely feels like you’ve got more control over the phone. Nothing to write home about individually, but altogether, your phone just feels a bit more you.

But the thing I’ve really loved — and I wasn’t expecting this — is the change to the animations, especially on notifications. When a notification dismisses, it kind of folds back into the corner of the screen, like you’re posting a letter. I know that sounds like a tiny detail, and it is, but it looks really lovely. It’s that kind of attention to detail that makes you feel like someone actually cared about every single interaction. I really appreciate that.

FOR ANYONE SHOOTING CONTENT ON THEIR IPHONE

Photo reframing is a cool addition. You can adjust the composition of a shot after you’ve taken it, without just cropping. This is handy for quick edits, especially if you are a content creator, but honestly, I haven’t really felt the need to use it all that much. It’s a nice addition, though, if you love taking and messing around with photos.

SO SHOULD YOU ACTUALLY INSTALL IT?

Honestly? If you’re someone who uses their iPhone to actually run their life — managing a side hustle, juggling work and family, trying to get more done without adding more noise — I think it’s worth it right now. The stability has been brilliant, the battery hasn’t been an issue, and once you’re past the Siri waitlist, the features that matter are the ones that quietly save you time every single day. That feels worth it to me.

If your iPhone is your only device and you can’t afford any disruption, maybe hold on. The public beta is coming in July, and the full release is in September — it’s not that far away. And if you’re installing purely for Siri AI, just know the waitlist is real, and it might be a while before you actually get in.

But if you’re up for it? I’d say go for it. This one feels different. It’s not just a feature-list update — there’s stuff in here that’s actually changing how I use my phone every day, and that doesn’t happen very often.

I’ll keep sharing thoughts as I use it more — especially as the Siri AI side of things develops. There’s definitely more to explore.

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What are you most excited about in iOS 27? Let me know in the comments — would love to know what you’re keeping an eye on.