Apple released iOS 27 beta 2 to developers today, June 22, 2026. If you were hoping this was the public launch, it is not. This is a developer-only build (24A5370h, per Apple Developer Releases), and the public beta is not expected until July. The full public launch is still slated for September alongside new iPhones.
But beta 2 is where things get interesting. The first beta after WWDC is usually Apple dumping everything on the table at once. Beta 2 is where Apple starts tightening the screws, fixing what broke, and quietly showing which features are actually going to ship this fall versus which ones are still half-baked.
Here is what changed in iOS 27 beta 2, what matters, and whether you should install it.
iOS 27 Beta 2 Is Available Now
Apple’s second developer beta for iOS 27 rolled out today alongside beta 2 builds for iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. The build number is 24A5370h, and it is available through the Apple Developer portal right now.
If you are a regular iPhone user, you should probably wait. Developer betas are meant for app testing, not daily driving. The public beta lands in July, and that is when Apple will have had more time to squash the worst bugs. The final public release is expected in September.
Siri Gets Easier to Find, But Some Pieces Are Still Coming
The biggest Siri change in beta 2 is not a new AI trick. It is a button. There is now a “Write with Siri” option sitting above the keyboard in Notes, Mail, Messages, and other text-heavy apps. In beta 1, this tool only appeared after you selected text, which made it easy to miss. Now it is just there, one tap away.
Apple is clearly pushing Siri’s writing features to be more discoverable, and that is a good instinct. The problem is that some of the Siri voice customization features are still not ready. The Pace and Expressivity options that appeared in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Siri settings now carry a “Coming Soon” label. They did not work in beta 1, and they are still not working in beta 2.
The pattern is familiar: Apple announces a feature at WWDC, the first beta shows it exists, and the second beta quietly marks it as not ready yet. Siri’s writing tools are moving forward. The voice personality stuff is on pause.
Wallet Is Turning Into a Money Dashboard
This one flew under the radar. The Wallet app now has an “Insights” feature tucked behind the three-dot menu in the upper right corner. It is not fully implemented yet, but the splash screen tells you where Apple is headed.
When it works, Insights will let you connect your financial accounts to Wallet and view spending insights, recurring transactions, account balances, and up-to-date account information. Apple is essentially turning Wallet from a place that holds your cards and passes into something that looks a lot like a personal finance dashboard.
That is a meaningful shift. Apple already has your credit cards, your Apple Cash transactions, and your Apple Pay history. Adding spending visibility across connected accounts could make Wallet a genuine competitor to apps like Mint (or whatever replaced Mint this week). It is not there yet, but beta 2 is the first time Apple has shown the scaffolding.
RCS Finally Gets Less Annoying
If you text Android users, this one matters. iOS 27 beta 2 adds support for replying to a specific message in an RCS conversation with an Android user. Long press on a message and you get the inline reply option, just like you already have in iMessage.
It also fixes tapbacks. In iOS 26, when someone sent a reaction to a photo or video over RCS, you would get that ugly text descriptor: “[loved an image]” instead of just seeing the emoji on the photo. Beta 2 now shows the reaction emoji directly on the image or video, the same way it works in iMessage.
This is not the kind of feature that makes headlines, but it is the kind of feature that makes cross-platform texting less painful. If you have ever been in a group chat with Android users and watched the tapback reactions turn into a wall of bracketed text, you know exactly why this matters.
Apple TV Updates Can Be Managed From the Home App
The Home app now lists your Apple TV under the Updates section in Settings. You can install Apple TV software updates remotely from the Home app, without needing to turn on the Apple TV itself.
This is a small quality-of-life win for anyone who manages multiple Apple TVs around the house. Instead of navigating to each TV to check for updates, you can now handle them from your iPhone.
Visual Intelligence Adds a Privacy-Relevant Toggle
There is a new Visual Intelligence option in the Siri section of Settings. “Highlight to Image Search” is turned off by default. Apple’s description says that turning it on will automatically send images to third parties when you highlight subjects to find similar images.
This is worth paying attention to. The feature itself is not alarming, but the default-off position and the automatic third-party sending are details that matter. Apple is giving you a clear toggle here, and the default is the safe one. If you enable it, you are opting in to a feature that sends image data to external services. That is the kind of thing you should understand before you flip the switch.
Smaller Changes Worth Knowing
A quick rundown of the rest of what beta 2 brought:
- iCloud backup notifications. Code in the beta suggests Apple will send notifications if an iCloud backup fails. The message reads: “There’s a problem with our server, so you may not be able to backup or restore your device right now.” Helpful, if a little late.
- AirPort Utility is going away. Apple says the app will no longer be available for download in iOS 27. If you already have it, you can re-download it, but Apple is not guaranteeing it will still work.
- Camera app visual cues. The tools button now highlights in yellow when hidden controls like exposure adjustment are enabled. A small UX improvement that makes it easier to notice when you have left a setting on.
- Wallet Create a Pass textures. The Create a Pass feature in Wallet now offers texture options when choosing a color.
- HomeKit Secure Video. You can long-press incoming notifications from HomeKit Secure Video cameras to watch the motion video and turn on nearby lights.
- HomeKit accessories fix. Beta 2 fixes an issue where some HomeKit accessories, like Philips Hue lights, became unresponsive after installing iOS 27 or tvOS 27. If your smart home lights have been acting up since installing beta 1, this should help.
- Weather readability. Some of the light blue text in the Weather app has been updated to be lighter and brighter, improving readability for precipitation levels, condition descriptions, and wind speed.
- Siri app cleanup. The standalone Siri app now supports multi-select delete for conversations.
- Photos RAW support. The AI editing tools in Photos now work with RAW images, which matters if you shoot in ProRAW or other RAW formats.
Should You Install iOS 27 Beta 2?
If you are a developer testing your apps: Yes, update. You need to make sure your apps work with the latest changes.
If you are a curious power user: Install it on a secondary device, not your daily phone. Beta 2 is more stable than beta 1, but it is still a beta. Expect battery drain, app crashes, and features that do not work yet (see: Siri voice customization).
If you are a normal iPhone user: Wait for the public beta in July or the final release in September. There is nothing in beta 2 that is urgent enough to justify the instability. The RCS fixes and Wallet Insights are nice, but they are not worth bricking your phone over.
Beta software is beta software. It exists for a reason, and that reason is not to give you an early look at cool features. It exists to help Apple find and fix problems before the general public installs it.
Bottom Line
iOS 27 beta 2 is not the big public launch. It is the first meaningful cleanup pass after the initial WWDC dump. The interesting part is not one headline feature. It is Apple slowly turning Siri, Wallet, RCS, Home, Visual Intelligence, and Photos into the shape of the iPhone update people will actually get this fall.
