You Can Install the iOS 27 Public Beta Now, but You Probably Shouldn't

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iOS 27 isn't Apple's most feature-filled update, but it is a monumental one. This year's upgrade is defined by Apple Intelligence, a new AI-powered Siri, and more ways to customize Liquid Glass. (Yes, Apple finally added a slider, people.) Apple is also focused on performance updates this year: That means iOS 27 should run faster on your iPhone, and experience fewer bugs and glitches.

While iOS 27—and the rest of Apple's new updates—won't be out until the fall (likely September), you can try it out right now. Apple has offered testers access to the developer beta since WWDC, but, starting today, the public beta is officially available for testing as well. As long as you have a compatible iPhone, you can try iOS 27 immediately, but here's the thing: You still probably shouldn't.

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A warning before you install the iOS 27 public beta

If you've dabbled in beta software before, you probably already know my spiel: Betas are designed for software testers to trial upcoming updates and root out as many issues as possible before that software rolls out to the general public. As such, by installing beta software on your iPhone, you're opening yourself up to possible bugs and glitches Apple hasn't had a chance to patch. While the official build of iOS 27 won't be perfect either, with a beta, you might run into something that genuinely makes your device difficult to use, or that breaks it altogether. It's the risk of running a beta on a personal device.

Luckily, the public beta is safer and more stable than the initial developer beta. Apple beta tests updates like iOS 27 for about a month with a more limited pool of testers before inviting more users to join in. That increases the chance that testers will root out most of the worst bugs, lessening the overall risk of the beta. However, the risk is still there. If something goes terribly wrong with the beta, like your iPhone suddenly stops responding, or you simply can't live with how buggy it is, you can uninstall it—but it's not easy to do, especially without losing any data. Unless you made a proper backup ahead of time, you'll have to wipe your iPhone and start from scratch with the latest official version of iOS. The risk for data loss is huge, and should not be ignored if you're thinking about installing the beta.

Back up your iPhone to a local drive before you install the iOS 27 beta

If you're going ahead with the beta installation, make sure to back up your iPhone to your Mac or PC. It isn't enough to have an iCloud backup: If your iPhone backs up to iCloud while running the beta, it will overwrite your backup from the current version of iOS. As such, the safer bet is to back up your iPhone to a computer. If you need to downgrade, you can restore your iPhone from this backup and recover your data—minus anything generated after the backup was created. For more information, see Lifehacker's guide here.

Note that this backup is only good for as long as Apple signs (or supports) that version of iOS. Once Apple releases a new official version of iOS and stops signing the version your backup was made to, you won't be able to restore it. (This is me, once again, advising you not to install the developer beta.)

Which iPhones are compatible with iOS 27?

If you are going to install iOS 27 on your iPhone, you'll need one that's compatible with the update. Luckily, all iOS 26 devices can run iOS 27. They 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 newer)

Note that only iPhone 15 Pro and newer can run Apple Intelligence features (including Siri AI), while only the iPhone 17 line (including the Air) can access Apple's best on-device models.

How to install the iOS 27 public beta

First, you'll need to enroll your Apple Account in Apple's beta program, if you haven't done so already. Make sure to sign into the same Apple Account you use on the iPhone you want to install the beta on. Next, open your iPhone, and head to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. Tap "Beta Updates," choose "iOS 27 Public Beta," then tap the back button. Once you see "iOS 27 Beta" in the updates pane, tap "Update Now."

How to install the iOS 27 developer beta

Even though the public beta is official, the developer beta is going strong. From this point on, Apple will still release developer beta updates for iOS 27 first, before releasing the public beta version a few hours later—or, perhaps, the next day. If the beta is free of major issues, public testers get it immediately. If developer testers do encounter major issues, however, Apple may delay the public beta to fix them first. If you want access to new beta updates as quickly as possible, you'll want the developer beta. And, again, while the risk is lower at this point than it was at the beginning, you are losing protections the public beta offers.

In years past, installing a developer beta on your personal Apple device wasn't all that easy. Unless you paid the $99 fee to become an Apple developer, you needed to download an IPSW file from the internet and load it onto your device—not the safest practice. As much as Apple probably doesn't want the average iPhone user installing developer betas, they also don't want these users infecting their devices with malware. As such, it's much more straightforward for anyone to get on the developer beta.

To start, head to this page on the Apple Developer Program website, then scroll down and click "Create your account" under "Become an Apple developer." (Don't choose "Enroll now" under "Join the Apple Developer Program," as this still costs $99). From here, log into your Apple Account and follow the on-screen instructions to become a developer.

Next, on your iPhone, head to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. Assuming your iPhone is connected to your Apple Account, you should see "iOS 27 Developer Beta" towards the top of the beta list. Tap this, then tap the back arrow in the top left. Once iOS loads "iOS 27 Beta," tap "Update Now."