iOS 27.2 launches next week with a variety of new features, and also design changes for select Apple apps. Here’s what’s coming.
#1: Apple Music
Apple Music just rolled out a big design rebrand, and iOS 27.2 extends that fresh visual identity to several aspects of the Music app.
For starters, there’s a new app icon that strips the old red color in favor of black and white. The removal of the old red identity extends to other elements inside the app too.
In Music’s tab bar, the accent color for the active tab is now blue instead of red. And in your Library, sections like Playlists, Artists, and Albums are entirely monochrome.
If you use the Music app’s widgets on your Home Screen or Today view, you’ll notice that they drop the former red background too. Now all widgets use a black background instead.
#2: Apple Books
Apple’s Books app in iOS 27.2 introduces design updates centered around its reading experience.
As explained in-depth here, design changes include:
- Progress bars are now available to track your reading location
- Menu in the bottom-right has a new icon and is a standard Liquid Glass menu for consistency with other apps
- Bookmark has been removed from that menu and now lives in the upper-right of the reader view as a standalone button
- ‘X’ button has moved to the upper-left corner
- ‘Back’ button has moved to lower-left and is larger than before
These changes were likely motivated by the iPhone Duo’s introduction.
Not only does the Duo make a great e-reader, but it’s also a reason to avoid bespoke UI elements for things like menus and buttons, since Apple’s stock options dynamically reposition for different iPhone models in a way the old Books controls likely wouldn’t have.
What do you think of iOS 27.2’s design updates for Music and Books? Let us know in the comments.
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