You Can Install the IOS 27 Public Beta Right Now, but You Probably Shouldn’t.

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iOS 27 isn’t Apple’s biggest update, but it’s truly monumental. This year’s update includes Apple Intelligence , the new AI-powered Siri , and more personalization options for Liquid Glass. (Yes, Apple finally added a slider !) This year, Apple is also focusing on performance improvements, meaning iOS 27 should run faster on your iPhone and have fewer bugs and crashes.

While iOS 27—and the rest of Apple’s new updates—won’t be released until this fall (likely in September), you can try it out right now. Apple has been providing testers with access to the developer beta since WWDC, but starting today, the public beta is also officially available for testing. If you have a compatible iPhone, you can try iOS 27 immediately, but here’s the catch: you probably shouldn’t anyway.

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Warning before installing the iOS 27 public beta.

If you’ve used beta software before, you probably already know what I mean: betas are designed to test future updates and identify as many issues as possible before the software is released to the general public. Therefore, by installing a beta on your iPhone, you risk introducing bugs and glitches that Apple hasn’t yet fixed. While the official iOS 27 build won’t be perfect, you could encounter something with a beta that will actually make your device difficult to use or completely break it. That’s the risk of running a beta on a personal device.

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Fortunately, the public beta is safer and more stable than the initial developer beta. Apple tests updates like iOS 27 for about a month with a limited number of testers before inviting more users. This increases the likelihood that testers will identify the most serious bugs, reducing the overall risk of beta testing. However, there is still risk. If something goes horribly wrong with the beta, such as your iPhone suddenly becoming unresponsive or you simply can’t live with its buggy nature, you can delete it—but this isn’t easy, especially without losing your data. If you haven’t made a proper backup beforehand, you’ll have to erase all data from your iPhone and start from scratch with the latest official version of iOS. The risk of data loss is enormous and shouldn’t be ignored if you’re considering installing the beta.

Before installing iOS 27 beta, please back up your iPhone to a local drive.

If you decide to install the beta, be sure to back up your iPhone to a Mac or PC . An iCloud backup alone isn’t enough: if your iPhone creates an iCloud backup while the beta is running, it will overwrite your current iOS backup. Therefore, it’s safest to back up your iPhone to a computer. If you need to revert to a previous version, you can restore your iPhone from this backup and get your data back—except for anything created after the backup was created. For more information , see Lifehacker’s guide here .

Please note that this backup is only valid as long as Apple signs (or supports) this version of iOS. Once Apple releases a new official version of iOS and stops signing the version your backup was created for, you won’t be able to restore it. (This is my advice again: don’t install the developer beta.)

Which iPhone models are compatible with iOS 27?

If you’re planning to install iOS 27 on your iPhone, you’ll need a device compatible with the update. Fortunately, all devices running iOS 26 are compatible with iOS 27. These include:

  • iPhone 17

  • iPhone 17 Pro

  • iPhone 17 Pro Max

  • iPhone Air

  • iPhone 16e

  • iPhone 16

  • iPhone 16 Plus

  • iPhone 16 Pro

  • iPhone 16 Pro Max

  • iPhone 15

  • iPhone 15 Plus

  • iPhone 15 Pro

  • iPhone 15 Pro Max

  • iPhone 14

  • iPhone 14 Plus

  • iPhone 14 Pro

  • iPhone 14 Pro Max

  • iPhone 13

  • iPhone 13 mini

  • iPhone 13 Pro

  • iPhone 13 Pro Max

  • iPhone 12

  • iPhone 12 mini

  • iPhone 12 Pro

  • iPhone 12 Pro Max

  • iPhone 11

  • iPhone 11 Pro

  • iPhone 11 Pro Max

  • iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)

Please note that Apple Intelligence features (including Siri AI) are only available on iPhone 15 Pro and later, while Apple’s best built-in features are only available on iPhone 17 (including Air).

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How to install the iOS 27 public beta

First, you’ll need to register your Apple account for the Apple Beta Program if you haven’t already. Make sure you’re signed in to the same Apple account you use on the iPhone you want to install the beta on. Then, open your iPhone and go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates . Tap Beta Updates, select iOS 27 Public Beta, then tap the Back button. Once you see iOS 27 Beta in the list of updates, tap Update Now.

How to install the iOS 27 developer beta

Although the public beta has officially launched, developer beta testing is still ongoing. From now on, Apple will release iOS 27 updates to developers first, followed by the public beta a few hours later, or possibly the next day. If the beta doesn’t contain any major issues, public beta participants will receive them immediately. However, if developers encounter serious problems, Apple may delay the public beta release to fix them first. If you want access to new beta updates as quickly as possible, you’ll need the developer beta. Again, while the risk is lower at this stage than at the beginning, you lose the protections provided by the public beta.

Installing the developer beta on your Apple device used to be quite tricky. Unless you paid $99 to join the Apple Developer Program, you had to download an IPSW file from the internet and install it on your device—not the most secure option. While Apple likely doesn’t want regular iPhone users installing developer betas, the company also doesn’t want these users infecting their devices with malware. So, accessing the developer beta is now much easier for anyone.

To get started, visit this page on the Apple Developer Program website , then scroll down and click “Create an account” under “Become an Apple Developer.” (Don’t select “Sign up now” under “Join the Apple Developer Program,” as that still costs $99.) Then sign in to your Apple account and follow the on-screen instructions to become a developer.

Next, on your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Betas . If your iPhone is connected to your Apple account, you should see “iOS 27 Developer Beta” at the top of the list of betas. Tap it, then tap the back arrow in the upper-left corner. Once iOS downloads “iOS 27 Beta,” tap “Update Now.”

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