The iOS 27 developer beta 1 was launched lower than two weeks in the past. Normally, we right here at Macworld don’t suggest that you just set up early betas in your main units, particularly on machines you utilize for work. Early betas usually have consumer interface quirks, and the OS itself may be unstable in comparison with official releases to most of the people. Betas are utilized by Apple to iron out the kinks and repair any hidden pitfalls. You completely are usually not obligated to be a beta tester.
That being stated, it’s simpler than ever to take part within the early testing, even in the event you aren’t really a developer. (Apple additionally affords a public beta program, the place the betas are usually extra steady.) Additionally, Apple has made downloading the beta no extra difficult than an everyday replace and eliminated the charge for developer testing. So, there aren’t any actual obstacles to putting in the beta, apart from whether or not your units match the necessities.
By the look of issues, there’s an excellent likelihood that you just’re already utilizing the iOS 27 beta 1. Based on Google Analytics logs for Macworld and our sister website in Germany, Macwelt, a number of of our readers have already taken the plunge and put in iOS 27 on their iPhones. Mixed visits for the websites from iOS 27 units have been about 2 %, a small however not-insignificant quantity.
These numbers are just like the week following WWDC final yr, when everybody wished to check out Liquid Glass. Curiously, a search in Google Analytics for iOS 26.0 or iOS 26.0.0 ends in no information recorded–it was as if the system didn’t even exist at that time. When you recall, WWDC25 was when Apple switched its OS nomenclature to a year-based system, so final yr, as a substitute of iOS 19, we acquired iOS 26. One thing within the iOS 26 beta was registering as iOS 19 in Google Analytics.
One week after WWDC final yr, there have been barely extra visits to our websites from the iOS 26 beta 1 than this yr. This in no way means that iOS 27 is mostly unpopular, as Apple made some adjustments to the user-agent information despatched to web sites with the early variations of iOS 26. To forestall fingerprinting, Safari doesn’t specify a selected iOS model from iOS 26 onwards. This led to a misunderstanding by internet analytics corporations that reported that iOS 26 was unpopular. In reality, the change in Safari was chargeable for the distorted outcomes by web site logs.
Nonetheless, visits to Macwelt and Macworld present that there’s appreciable curiosity amongst fanatics in making an attempt out the brand new system. Final success will doubtless be gauged by the adoption charges of iOS 27.2 and 27.3, when Apple releases its personal figures in late January or early February 2027.
