Five New Changes in IOS 27 Beta 5
On Monday, August 10th, Apple released the fifth beta of iOS 27. As we get closer to the update’s official fall release, the number of features and changes Apple will be introducing in each beta is certainly decreasing, and no one would call the fifth beta a feature-packed update. However, there are a few new features and changes worth noting, especially since Apple didn’t previously announce them at WWDC . Before I get into the new features, a reminder: iOS 27 is not yet finalized. So, while any owner of a compatible iPhone can install it , please remember that using betas on your device comes with risks. Be sure to back up your data, as you could lose everything on your iPhone if you need to revert to iOS 26.
Apple updated five app icons in iOS beta 27 (beta 5).
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When you update your iPhone to the latest iOS 27 beta—or, presumably, to iOS 27 itself—you’ll notice new icons for some familiar apps. Some updates are fairly minor, like for Safari. You might not even notice them right away, as the icon retains the same basic design as before. But in this latest beta, Safari now has fewer checkmarks on the compass, a slightly different blue background, and a distinct screw in the center. This is somewhat reminiscent of the flat design of iOS 7. The same goes for the Settings and App Store icons: subtle changes that you might not notice without comparing the icons side by side.
If you’ve been using the beta, you’ll immediately notice the update to the Siri app. Instead of the colorful looping logo Apple introduced with the app, Siri now appears as a gray glowing orb. The new Preview app icon is also easily visible: instead of a magnifying glass on a blue background, the new logo places the loop in the lower right corner of a colorful rounded square. I personally really like these changes, especially for Preview.
You can now select British English for the improved Siri voice.
If you have a compatible iPhone, you can customize the sound of Siri AI using a new feature called “Enhanced Voice.” It allows you to change Siri’s tempo and expressiveness to make her voice more unique to your iPhone than others. In the first four betas of iOS 27, Enhanced Voice only worked with various American accents. But starting with iOS 27 beta 5, Apple now supports customization of British English voices as well. According to 9to5Mac , you now have 11 different voices to customize.
A new section “Before Search” has appeared in the settings.
After updating your iPhone, go to Settings and you’ll find a new option under the Search Settings menu. Under “Before Search,” three new settings have appeared. The most significant change is “Suggest Apps,” which lets you choose how many apps appear in Siri suggestions (the default is eight). There’s also “Suggest App Shortcuts,” which apparently lets you choose whether iOS suggests app shortcuts, and “Show Recent Searches,” which lets you hide your searches from this menu.
You can see when you last updated your iPhone.
According to Apple Insider , iOS 27 beta 5 will display information about when you installed the current version of iOS on your iPhone. I’m not sure in what scenarios this will be useful, but it’s a new change.
Apple now hides cellular network types when using Wi-Fi.
Here’s a small but interesting change: Apple no longer displays cellular network types when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. If you look in Control Center, you won’t see whether you’re connected to LTE, 5G, or something like 5G UWB while you’re also connected to Wi-Fi. You’ll need to disconnect from Wi-Fi to see which cellular network your iPhone is connected to. (By the way, I also can’t see my cellular network type when connected to Wi-Fi on iOS 26, but it might be a carrier issue, as I’ve seen numerous reports of this change.)