5 Must-Try Features in the iOS 27 Beta
▼ Summary
– A new opacity slider in iOS 27 lets users adjust the transparency of Liquid Glass elements like tab bars.
– Apple refined many app icons introduced in iOS 26 with subtle color and texture tweaks for a more polished look.
– iOS 27 allows users to set independent volume levels for ringtones, alarms, alerts, and system sounds.
– Extra large widgets, which take up an entire screen, are now available for apps like Weather and Calendar.
– The Lock Screen time can now be repositioned next to the date at the very top to reduce clutter and show more wallpaper.
Apple has just released the iOS 27 developer beta, and I’ve been spending the last few hours exploring it on my iPhone 16 Pro. While the new Siri AI features remain locked behind a waitlist, I’ve found plenty of other improvements that make this release feel polished and purposeful, even if it’s not as sweeping as last year’s overhaul.
Here are five standout features that caught my attention.
The Liquid Glass opacity slider is a long-overdue addition. Introduced in iOS 26, the Liquid Glass design language was decent after some early fixes, but it never offered much customization. Now, a simple slider lets you adjust how transparent or frosted elements like tab bars appear. Want your search bar to feel almost invisible? Crank up the transparency. Prefer a more solid, readable look? Dial it toward the tinted side. It’s a small change that dramatically improves visual control.
Apple has also refined many of its app icons from iOS 26. The changes are subtle , color adjustments and a bit more glassy texture , but the result is noticeably cleaner and more cohesive. These aren’t radical redesigns, just thoughtful tweaks that make the Home Screen feel more premium.
Another welcome upgrade is the ability to set independent volume controls for ringtones, alarms, timers, and system sounds. In the Sounds & Haptics menu, you can now toggle off the option to match alarms and system sounds with your ringtone volume, then fine-tune each one separately. It’s a simple fix for a long-standing frustration.
I’ll admit I’m not a widgets person, but the new extra large widgets are hard to ignore. They take up an entire screen of apps (excluding the dock), which feels excessive at first. But for viewing a full calendar month or a lengthy to-do list at a glance, they’re remarkably useful.
Finally, the Lock Screen now lets you shrink the clock. When editing, you can move the time to sit beside the date at the very top of the screen. This frees up a surprising amount of space, letting your wallpaper , whether it’s a family photo or a piece of art , take center stage without the clutter.
We’ll be diving deeper into iOS 27 over the coming days. For a full rundown of everything coming to Apple’s next major updates, check out our comprehensive list.
(Source: The Verge)
