iOS 27 hands-on: the iPhone update I have been waiting for
iOS 27 hands-on: the iPhone update I have been waiting for
https://www.digitaltrends.com/phones/ios-27-hands-on-the-iphone-update-i-have-been-waiting-for/
Publish Date: 2026-06-12 06:44:00
Source Domain: www.digitaltrends.com
Apple dropped the first iOS 27 developer beta right after its WWDC 2026 event, and I installed it almost immediately. Although I don’t recommend anyone install a developer beta update on their primary iPhone, I couldn’t hold back, as this update seemed like the one iPhone users have been asking for years.
iOS 27 isn’t one of those updates that throws a crazy new feature at you every turn. There’s no dramatic redesign here and no laundry list of flashy features. Instead, Apple went back to its roots and fixed, refined, and polished what already existed.
My last year with iOS 26 had been filled with strife. It felt unpolished and was brimming with bugs. After installing the iOS 27 beta, it feels like iOS 26 was the beta, and iOS 27 is the version Apple originally wanted to ship.
The speed boost you can actually feel
The first thing you notice is the speed. Apple claims app launches are up to 30% faster, the Photos library loads up to 70% faster, and AirDrop transfers are up to 80% quicker. I usually ignore Apple’s percentage jargon, but this time I can actually feel the difference.
Switching between apps feels snappier, and apps open without that little delay. Photos loads your content faster, and animations rarely stutter. The search is still indexing on my iPhone, so Spotlight is still pretty slow. Hopefully, once the indexing is done, it will also get the speed boost.
Rachit Agarwal / Digital Trends
What surprised me the most was the AirDrop speed. There’s no way for me to quantitatively measure this, but the new AirDrop speed will genuinely surprise people. Small files like photos and documents transfer as soon as I tap the AirDrop button and select the destination device.
I selected a dozen photos, each around 10 MB in size, and they AirDropped to my iPad, even before I put my phone down. Transferring big files feels at least twice as fast as before. And it seems this is not restricted only to…
