Apple today started testing iOS 27.3, the biggest update to iOS 27 since it launched in September. iOS 27.3 includes some features Apple showed off earlier this year, and it adds all-new capabilities.
Safari
Safari has a Vertical Tabs layout option that can be activated in Safari settings, along with an Adaptive Dark Mode for websites that don’t have a dark mode design option.
Siri AI
Siri AI can do more in and across apps, with Apple adding a long list of new actions.
In Mail, Siri can unsubscribe you from mailing lists and undo recently sent messages. In Weather, Siri can add locations to your weather list, or control weather notifications. In Safari, Siri can clear browsing history, manage tabs and windows, save articles to a Reading List, and close duplicate tabs. In Files, Siri can organize content, delete files you haven’t accessed for a set period of time, and more.
There are new Siri actions across Calendar, Files, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts, and Weather. You can find out what’s new by asking Siri what it can do in each app.
Apple is also expanding Siri AI to Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Norwegian, and adding a Developer Preview that lets any developer integrate their app with Siri AI.
Any app can now bring its content and actions directly into Siri AI using App Intents. Siri AI can complete any custom actions developers implement, and there are skills available for teaching Siri AI to combine several actions into a single experience.
New Health App
The redesigned Health app is back in iOS 27.3. It has new Insights and Longevity tabs that show more information about your health and fitness metrics.
The Insights tab includes your most recent health data, like Activity Rings, heart rate, sleep score, and vitals. Apple Intelligence will use that information to offer Personal Guidance. The Health app will be able to make suggestions based on your goals and what kinds of activities you do.
The Health app’s Longevity tab looks at health data over time. It assesses you across seven categories: heart health, sleep, mental wellbeing, movement health, metabolic health, hearing, and nutrition. It also has a Health Age feature that uses info like resting heart rate, VO2 max, HRV, sleep, and biomarkers from blood work to calculate how your health metrics compare to your actual age. Health Age relies on health data collected from the Apple Watch, plus it incorporates fitness assessments you can take at home with tracking via the iPhone’s camera.
iPhone Duo Reachability
Reachability is now available on the iPhone Duo. You can swipe left from the left edge or right from the right edge of the device’s outer display to bring content closer to where your thumb is for one-handed use.
Reachability can be turned on in the Settings app by going to Accessibility, selecting Touch, and toggling on the option.
iPhone Duo Keyboard
The keyboard on the iPhone Duo’s front display has been tweaked. The emoji and number keys have been swapped, as have the microphone and return keys.
Keys are slightly taller and thinner, the space bar is wider, and the letters on each key are smaller and not as bold.
StandBy
Apple is making the StandBy features introduced with the iPhone Duo available on all iPhone models that can run iOS 27. There are updated versions of the Analog and Digital Clock faces with more customization options for color and complications, an updated Photos face, new Calendar and Weather faces, and the option to create multiple versions of each face type and swipe between them.
Live Rewind and Siri Recap
Live Rewind and Siri Recap are available in watchOS 27.3, but iOS 27.3 is also required. The features can be enabled in the Watch app on the iPhone.
Apple Intelligence for China
Apple Intelligence is now live in China. It includes initial Apple Intelligence features like Live Translation, Writing Tools, Visual Intelligence, email and notification summaries, Photos Clean Up, and Genmoji.
Siri AI is not available, nor are the Apple Intelligence features added in iOS 27.
China Earthquake Alerts
iOS 27.3 appears to add support for safety alerts. Apple has been working with the China Earthquake Networks Center to add early warning earthquake alerts for users in China.
Selfie Sing
Apple Music has a new “Selfie Sing” option that lets users capture a video of themselves singing karaoke. The feature can be found by searching for the Apple Music Sing playlist in Apple Music, selecting a song, and then tapping on the camera icon to start a recording.
Karaoke videos can be adjusted wit voice modification options and shared with friends or on social media.
Freeform
In the Freeform app, there are new tools for generating custom shapes and adding images. Apple says users can create custom, editable shapes with text descriptions. It’s a feature limited to Apple Creator Studio subscribers.
There are also new styles for formatting text, and an option to choose a color for the background of a board.
Control Center
The VPN toggle in Control Center now lets you quickly switch between VPNs. Before now, the toggle just turned the last used VPN on or off.
App Library
The “Cancel” button in the App Library search interface is now an X button.
Apple Fitness+
iOS 27.3 includes a new Gym Strength workout in Apple Fitness+. Gym Strength is a custom fitness option that generates a four-week plan based on a user’s goals, experience, schedule, and equipment.
Safari Settings
In the Advanced section of Safari settings, there’s an option to “Use Global Privacy Control.”
Weather
The tiny slider that lets you swap between Condition views in the Weather app now uses Liquid Glass. Apple has also updated how next-hour precipitation looks.
Australia
RCS support is available for Australian carrier Telstra in iOS 27.3.Related Roundups: iOS 27, iPadOS 27
Related Forum: iOS 27
This article, “Everything New in the iOS 27.3 Beta” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
