Apple’s third iOS 27 public beta is live for every iPhone back to the iPhone 11, but Siri AI still needs an iPhone 15 Pro or newer and skips the EU at launch.
- Apple released the third iOS 27 public beta on 08/11/2026, and anyone with a free Apple Beta Software Program account can install it today.
- Siri AI is the release’s headline feature, but it needs an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, so most phones that can run the beta cannot run it.
- Apple says apps launch up to 30% faster in iOS 27, and that gain reaches back to the iPhone 11.
Apple pushed the third public beta of iOS 27 to iPhone owners today, and the marquee feature will not run on most of the phones that can install it. iOS 27 supports every iPhone that runs iOS 26, which reaches back to the iPhone 11 and the second-generation iPhone SE. Siri AI, the rebuilt assistant behind Apple’s multi-year AI spending push, requires an Apple Intelligence device, meaning iPhone 15 Pro or newer.
Two further limits sit in Apple’s own footnotes on the iOS preview page. “Siri AI will not initially be available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS,” the company states there. Apple also labels the assistant itself unfinished: “Siri AI will be available in beta later this year and requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled device set to a supported language.“
The rebuilt Siri holds a running conversation, searches personal data across Mail, Messages, Notes, Reminders and Calendar, reads onscreen content and acts inside apps. Responses surface from the Dynamic Island, and a standalone app syncs the history through iCloud. Some on-device behavior is narrower still, limited to iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air, and the same assistant draws on Apple’s World Knowledge Answers search effort.
iOS 27 Public Beta 3 has been released by Apple! This is equivalent to Developer Beta 5.
— iSpeedtestOS (@iSpeedtestOS) August 11, 2026
You can opt in to public beta updates in Settings/General/Software Update/Beta Updates.#iOS27PublicBeta3 #iOS27Beta5 pic.twitter.com/TPKElmjhma
The speed work reaches further back than the AI does
Apple’s performance claims apply across the whole compatibility list. The company says apps open up to 30% faster, nearby AirDrop transfers finish up to 80% faster, and new captures appear in Photos up to 70% faster. Apple optimized the CPU scheduler as far back as the iPhone 11.
Handoff between Wi-Fi and cellular changed too, so a phone should drop a weakening home network sooner. Search was rebuilt across Spotlight, Photos and Mail. Owners of a 2019 iPhone get all of that and none of the assistant.
What to check before you tap install?
Back up to iCloud or a computer first. Beta builds still carry bugs, shorter battery life and third-party app breakage, and Apple recommends a secondary device. Enrollment runs through the free Apple Beta Software Program, then Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. Anyone who would rather stay on shipping software can sit on the iOS 26.6.1 security update.
Testers already on public beta 2 get this build from the same Software Update screen. Parents counting on the Screen Time overhaul should check their family’s hardware, because the redesigned controls need every participating Family Sharing device on the OS 27 generation.
Apple has not published separate release notes for public builds, which track the developer betas. That leaves open which English variants Siri AI ships in, when the EU gets it, and how far its early access to third-party app data extends.
The final release lands this fall. Until then, Feedback Assistant is the only channel Apple reads.
