Apple launched the first public beta of iOS 27.3 on Monday, about two months after the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro lineup and iOS 27. The headliner here is the return of the new Health app: After briefly testing the redesigned Health app in an early iOS 27.2 beta, Apple has put the app back in the recent beta cycle.
Apple historically releases an iOS update in December, so I expect iOS 27.3 to land on iPhones later this year.
Since this is a beta, I recommend downloading it only on something other than your primary device. This isn’t the final version of iOS 27.3, so the update might be buggy and battery life may be short, so it’s best to keep those troubles on a secondary device.
Also, since this isn’t the final version, there could be more features to land on your iPhone when Apple releases 27.3.
Here are some features developers and beta testers can try now in the first iOS 27.3 beta.
The revamped Health app is back
The redesigned Health app returns in the iOS 27.3 beta after Apple tested the feature in the iOS 27.2 beta process. Developers and beta testers can explore the refreshed app and see things like a new Longevity tab and your Health Age.
Apple wrote online that we can expect the redesigned Health app to land on devices later this year.
Explore Live Rewind and Siri Recap
If developers and beta testers have an Apple Watch that is running the watchOS 27.3 beta as well as an iPhone running the iOS 27.3 beta, those folks can test out Apple’s Live Rewind and Siri Recap in Audio Intelligence.
Live Rewind allows you to pull up a text transcript of a conversation in the past 15 seconds on your Apple Watch, and Siri Recap can automatically give you a summary of meetings, conversations and other events. Live Rewind snippets are replaced by new audio and then deleted, and Siri Recaps delete themselves after seven days if you don’t manually delete them sooner. However, you can also save both of these in the Siri app and export them to the Notes or Journal apps on your iPhone.
While both Live Rewind and Siri Recap are automatically deleted over time, I’m uncomfortable with the ability to save snippets or recaps, which raises concerns about people recording my conversations without my knowledge. Even if Audio Intelligence just summarizes what I said, I still find both features creepy.
And while I recognize the utility for certain groups of people, I also think it’s better to just, y’know… talk to someone instead of asking your watch what they just said.
Gym Strength comes to Fitness Plus
In addition to the revamped Health app, developers and beta testers who subscribe to Fitness Plus (which costs $10 per month) can also access a new gym experience called Gym Strength. It’s designed to provide folks with personalized four-week strength training plans that take into account someone’s goals, experience level and schedule.
Each workout recommends exercises, reps, sets and weights in order to help you meet your goals. And if you’re unfamiliar with an exercise, you can also watch video tutorials to see how to perform that exercise.
Siri AI can perform more actions and comes to more languages
Siri AI gets a huge update in the iOS 27.3 beta. The feature can now do more actions in supported apps, like Apple Music and Messages. For example, if you go into Apple Music, you can ask Siri to create a playlist for you, and in Messages, you can ask Siri to schedule, edit or unsend messages. If you open an app and ask Siri what it can do in the app, the digital assistant should give you some examples of its capabilities.
The beta also brings Siri AI to traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Turkish and Norwegian.
New StandBy mode features
StandBy mode also gets an upgrade in the iOS 27.3 beta. In the beta, you can add full weather and calendar slides to the mode and choose from more colors.
Apple introduced StandBy mode alongside iOS 17, and it was one of my favorite iPhone features. I’m happy Apple is finally showing it some love and adding more features and capabilities so it feels more like a home or desk hub.
Adaptive Dark Mode comes to Safari
If you’re a fan of dark mode, the iOS 27.3 beta has a treat for you. The beta gives you a new setting in Safari called Adaptive Dark Mode. When enabled, it forces dark mode onto webpages in Safari that may not have a dark mode option otherwise.
Here’s where to find the option.
1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap Safari.
4. Tap Adaptive Dark Mode.
5. Tap On.
Those are a few of the new features developers can try now with the first beta of iOS 27.3. Apple has not said when exactly it will release iOS 27.3 to the general public, but we expect it to land on devices before the end of the year.
For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 27.2, why you may have missed iOS 27.1 and our iOS 27 cheat sheet.
Zachary McAuliffe
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