iOS 27.2 RC is Out! - What's New?

Summary

Aaron from ZolloTech reviews the iOS 27.2 Release Candidate (RC), a pre-release build intended for developers and public beta testers. He says it could become the public release if Apple finds no further issues. The RC build number is 24B115.

The download was about 10.33 GB on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Aaron attributes the size largely to moving from a beta to a public-release build, which reinstalls much of the operating system. Apple also issued RC updates for iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, HomePod software, and visionOS.

Features and changes

• Apple Music: The app’s icon and visual styling have been refreshed, including blue menu icons and black-and-white icons in the Library.
• Podcasts and Books: Podcasts now highlights “New Episodes” on its Home tab, and its icon has subtly changed. Books has a revised bottom-right menu icon.
• Apple TV: Users can create profiles, designate child accounts, customize profile images, and require a four-digit access code. TV settings also restore an Automatic Downloads option.
• Messages and Siri suggestions: Suggested actions can use message context to offer options such as adding items to Calendar, Reminders, or Notes; showing locations in Maps; and surfacing flight or package information. Suggestions are processed on-device, and unused suggestions stop appearing after 30 days. The system can also surface personal context, such as anniversaries, when making calls.
• Siri AI languages: Support expands to French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil), and Spanish.
• FaceTime: Dual Capture, which uses the front and rear cameras together, is now available during group FaceTime calls.
• Accessibility: The Side Button setting for activating voice or Type to Siri has returned.
• Privacy and security: The impersonation-risk detection icon has been updated. App Tracking Transparency also has a changed prompt for users in the EU.
• Health app: The redesigned Health app seen in earlier beta testing is not included in the RC. Aaron expects it to return in a future update, possibly iOS 27.3.

Bugs and performance

The RC fixes a Home Screen widget-placement bug that previously caused the screen to glitch and could require a reboot. CarPlay appeared to be working normally based on early reports. However, the wallpaper desaturation issue remains, and some users still report lag with clear app icons.

Aaron’s initial use suggests the system is smooth, but he cautions that the update had only been installed for a short time and was still indexing. He had not yet established whether it resolves other reported issues, including Face ID behavior or intermittent lag. The device was somewhat warm after updating, which he attributes to background processing.

Early battery observations on his iPhone 18 Pro Max were positive, though he says more testing is needed. Storage figures varied by category: iOS used about 29.27 GB overall, with Apple Intelligence accounting for 12.22 GB. He notes that updates replace prior system files rather than simply adding their full size on top.

A preliminary Geekbench run scored 3,985 single-core and 10,971 multi-core, which Aaron says may be affected by ongoing indexing.

Release expectations and advice

Aaron expects iOS 27.2 to reach the public the following Monday, with iOS 27.3 beta 1 later that week. These are predictions, not confirmed release dates.

He recommends that users already on the iOS 27.2 beta install the RC. Those on iOS 27.0.1 can generally update, but he suggests waiting a day if they are concerned about app compatibility.

Main speaker/source: Aaron (ZolloTech).