On the first day of the WWDC developer conference, Apple released the first developer beta of its new operating system. This year, that means that the first release of iOS 27 outside Cupertino came on June 8, 2026.
The pattern goes like this: Apple releases developer-only betas for the first month or so, and then starts releasing the same build for both developers and public beta testers. With only a month or less before the general release, most of the beta updates now are minor in scope, focused on polish, optimization, and fixing the last bugs.
If you want to try out the new OS 27 updates and provide feedback, check out our article on how to become a beta tester. It’s easy.
Updated August 31, 2026: The eighth beta of iOS 27 is now available to developers, and should be released to the public testers within the next day or so. We’re just a week or two away from the final wide release.
The big iOS 27 release this year is focused on three main areas:
For a more complete breakdown of all the new features and changes, check out our iOS 27 guide.
With just a week or two before the final wide release, the betas are focused on fixing bugs, security flaws, and performance and not on making big visible changes.
You’ll need to be registered as an Apple Developer, but a free developer account will do. You can get one via Xcode or the Apple Developer app in iOS. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app:
Once you have a free developer account, just follow the same instructions as with the public beta:
The first iOS 27 public beta is not available yet but is expected to arrive in July. When it lands, you can follow these steps to test it out even if you’re not a developer:
It may take a few moments after registering for the beta option to appear in Software Update.
If you want to uninstall the iOS 27 beta read: How to remove an iOS beta from your iPhone.
