Five New Features Coming to Your IPhone in IOS 27.2
If you’re like most people and still getting used to iOS 27 on your iPhone, you might not have even installed it yet, or maybe you’re confused about why iOS 27.0.1 even exists. (Short answer: the iPhone 18 Pro is a bit buggy .) But a new iPhone update is on the horizon that brings even more new features and changes: iOS 27.2. While this update isn’t as big as iOS 27 itself, it’s still significant, especially for Health app users. Here’s what’s new.
The update is currently in testing, so if you’d like to try it out sooner, you can enroll your iPhone in Apple’s beta testing program and evaluate these features today. Just keep in mind that any beta testing comes with some risk, so if you decide to take this route, make a proper backup of all important data before installing the beta.
The new Health app in iOS 27.2
In iOS 27.2, Apple is completely redesigning the Health app . This is perhaps the most significant change in the update from Apple, and fitness tracker users will likely appreciate many of these new features. In the new Health app, you’ll be able to see your fitness rings within the app itself, rather than in the Fitness app; there’s a new Longevity tab that provides insight into key aspects of your long-term health, including mental well-being, nutrition, daily physical activity, heart health, metabolic health, sleep, and hearing health. There are also new tests to help analyze your overall health and identify areas for improvement, including a new Health Age feature . You can even allow your iPhone camera to watch your workouts to assess your fitness in categories like flexibility, balance, VO2max, and strength.
This is definitely the biggest update to the Health app in years, and I’m looking forward to exploring the new features once the update is released. You can learn more about the new features in the Health app in iOS 27.2 in Lifehacker’s Senior Health Editor Beth Skwarecki’s guide here . (Beth especially loves the new step counter, which appears at the top of both the Health and Fitness apps.)
iOS 27.2 has expanded the Call Context feature.
Call Context is a great use of Apple Intelligence. During a phone call, Apple Intelligence checks whether the phone number you’re calling is associated with a company listed on your device. If so, it retrieves this information and displays it on the call screen. For example, if you’re speaking with your airline’s customer service, Call Context can automatically display your flight number based on the itinerary found in your email.
In iOS 27.2, the Call Context feature now includes anniversary alerts. If you’re on the phone with someone for whom you have an anniversary saved, the alert will appear on your screen. This way, you can get a little reminder if you called a friend on their birthday but accidentally forgot about it. (Thank you, technology, for saving some of us from our own inattention, even if you encourage bad habits.)
FaceTime will add sign language support.
As part of a previous accessibility announcement, Apple announced the addition of a new API to FaceTime that supports adding a human translator to video calls. This feature wasn’t included in iOS 27, but it appears it will be implemented in Apple’s next update, making video calls more accessible in the future.
Apple TV profiles are coming to iPhone and iPad.
If you own an Apple TV, you probably know that you can create profiles to allow individual users to personalize their viewing experience of shows and movies. As MacRumors notes , these profiles will now appear in the Apple TV app in iOS and iPadOS 27.2. This will allow multiple users to personalize their Apple TV experience on a single device: for example, if your family shares an iPad, each user can switch to their Apple TV profile when it’s their turn to watch. Now, if only we had system profiles, Apple!
Siri artificial intelligence will also appear in other languages.
At launch, Siri AI was only available in English. But with the release of iOS 27.2, Apple is expanding this list . After updating to the latest version, you’ll be able to use Siri AI in French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.
iOS 27.2 brings some minor changes to the user interface.
Apparently, Apple isn’t thrilled with the look of some of its apps in iOS 27. MacRumors also noticed that in the Music app, Apple removed some red accents and changed the color of some buttons from red to black—including the Play and Shuffle buttons, as well as the icons in the Library section. In the Clock app, the AM and PM values are now lower than the alarm time. In the Podcasts app, the Next button is now called New Episodes, which may add a bit of clarity. Finally, Apple changed “App Access” in Siri to “Excluded Apps” and now allows you to exclude multiple apps from Siri at once.