15 Hidden iOS 27 Features You Can Check Out in the Developer Beta

15 Hidden iOS 27 Features You Can Check Out in the Developer Beta

15 Hidden iOS 27 Features You Can Check Out in the Developer Beta

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/15-hidden-ios-27-features-you-can-check-out-in-the-developer-beta/

Publish Date: 2026-06-26 08:01:00

Source Domain: www.cnet.com

Apple spent a lot of time talking about artificial intelligence at WWDC this year, including how Apple Intelligence is getting a boost from Google’s Gemini models. Apple unveiled Siri AI, a major overhaul of its voice assistant that can hold longer conversations, answer questions about what is on your screen and pull relevant information from your messages, emails and photos.

Siri AI is only one part of iOS 27. Apple also announced more advanced photo-editing tools, expanded parental controls, updates to its Liquid Glass design and several performance improvements intended to make the iPhone feel faster and more responsive.

Some of the most immediately useful changes, however, are much smaller. After installing the iOS 27 developer beta, I noticed new features tucked inside apps you already use every day: a faster way to pull up your Safari tabs, a separate alarm-volume setting, new tools for saving and organizing photos, and a Custom EQ option for AirPods.

The iOS 27 developer beta is available now, with a public beta expected in July and the full update arriving this fall. Developer betas can be buggy and may affect battery life, app compatibility and everyday performance, so you should avoid installing them on your primary iPhone unless you are comfortable dealing with unfinished software.

Here are some of the less obvious iOS 27 features worth checking out.

Expand the edges of a photo with Extend

The Photos app is getting a new Extend tool that can expand an image beyond its original borders. You can use it to straighten a crooked horizon, change the aspect ratio of a photo or give your subject more breathing room in the frame.

iOS 27 Extend tool in Photos

Photos’ new Extend tool can expand an image beyond its edges.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Extend uses generative AI to create the additional parts of the image, similar to generative-expand tools already available in some photo-editing apps. Apple has also added a Spatial Reframing feature, that allows you to touch and drag to adjust the…

Source