Apple has released iOS 27 Beta 5 for developers, marking the point where the focus begins to shift from major new features to polishing the overall experience. While there aren’t many headline changes this time around, you’ll find plenty of smaller tweaks throughout the system, and I’ll cover all of them below.
Beta 5 also marks the beginning of Apple’s weekly beta cycle, with new iOS 27 beta releases expected every week until the public launch in September.
In case you missed it, here’s everything added in beta 4: What’s New in iOS 27 Beta 4 →
iOS 27 Developer Beta 5
Build: 24A5408d
Released: August 10, 2026
App Icon Changes
Some app icons, including Preview and Siri, have been redesigned in iOS 27 Beta 5.
The Preview icon no longer shows the magnifying glass on its own. Instead, it’s now placed over a colorful background. The Siri icon now looks more like the glowing orb that appears when Siri is activated, rather than the simpler icon used before.
Safari now has a brighter blue background, with fewer compass markings and a more detailed arrow. The Settings and App Store icons are also more transparent, allowing you to see the layers underneath. The Remote icon has also been updated with a gray background instead of black.
Spotlight Search
iOS 27 Beta 5 makes the background of Spotlight suggestions slightly brighter.
“What’s New” Splash Screen
When you open Apple Music or Photos for the first time, you’ll now see a new “What’s New” splash screen. Here’s what it shows.
What’s New in Apple Music
- Concerts For You: Get links to buy tickets and more personalized recommendations for local shows based on your listening right from the Home tab and throughout the app.
- Reimagined Artists Pages: Stunning, full-page artwork, custom visuals, and artist-curated highlights allow artists more creative expression and a more immersive listening experience for you.
- Enhanced AutoMix: AutoMix now draws on a richer palette of effects - including looping, reverb, delay, and more - to craft smooth, high-energy transitions.
What’s New in Photos
- Intelligent Editing: Choose a new camera angle, expand the edges of your photo, and remove objects with natural infill in the new Tools pane.
- New Ways to Organize: Quickly locate photos with Captured by Me and Identity Documents in Utilities. Use star ratings and keywords to mark your best shots.
- Improved Shared Albums: Share photos and videos in their original resolution with all of your friends and family, even if they don’t have an Apple device.
Progressive Blur
One of the more noticeable changes in iOS 27 was Apple removing the progressive blur effect along the top edge of the screen when scrolling through content. Instead, it was replaced with a standard blur, and a lot of people weren’t happy about the change.
With Beta 5, Apple has brought the progressive blur back, at least in the Photos app. Yes, just Photos for now, not across the system or in other apps.
https://x.com/BetaProfiles/status/2086896385996308815
Siri AI Voice
You can now adjust the Pace and Expressivity of Siri’s British English voice. Previously, these options were only available for the U.S. English voice.
Keep in mind that this feature requires an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Air, or later, an iPad Pro (M4) or later, or a Mac with an M3 chip or later and at least 12 GB of RAM.
Clock
The time displayed in the Alarms and Timers tabs in Clock is now slightly bolder and brighter.
Siri AI
The Siri orb looks less colorful when activated, with the glowing effects around its edges toned down as well.
Drawing Tools
The drawing toolbar on iPhone can now be collapsed, just like on iPad.
I’ll keep adding more iOS 27 Beta 5 changes and new features here as I discover them. Stay tuned and follow @BetaProfiles on X or Threads!
