iOS 27 beta 5 brings new app icons, British Siri voices, and better Search settings

Apple released iOS 27 developer beta 5 on Monday, and it reads like a final polish pass before next month’s launch. The update swaps in redesigned app icons, expands Siri AI’s voice customization to British English, and adds a new Search settings section, according to 9to5Mac’s beta 5 roundup.

There’s no single headline feature here. Instead, Apple is tightening up Liquid Glass, trimming clutter from Control Center, and settling small details across Settings, Contacts, and Wallet.

Redesigned icons for Safari, Siri, and more

Beta 5 refreshes the Liquid Glass icons for Safari, Siri, Settings, Remote, Preview, and the App Store. Safari’s icon now has a small dot at its center, while Siri’s leans harder into the glassy look. Apple also toned down the saturation of the Siri animation, so invoking the assistant feels a little calmer.

A few apps, including Photos, Wallet, Music, and the App Store, picked up new launch screens too.

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Siri AI voices now speak British English

Siri AI’s voice customization first appeared in beta 3 with American English only. Beta 5 extends the Pace and Expressivity sliders to all seven American voices and four British voices, so UK users can finally tune how the new assistant sounds.

The catch hasn’t changed: Siri AI still requires an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or iPhone Air, since the rebuilt assistant needs 12GB of RAM to run on device. Even on a supported iPhone, Siri AI won’t show up until you enable it and clear the waitlist.

A new “Before Searching” section in Settings

Search settings gain a Before Searching section that controls what shows up before you type. You can set app suggestions to off, four, or eight results, and toggle shortcuts and recent searches. There’s also a new Search the Web option in the results.

It’s a small change, but it gives you real control over a screen that used to be take-it-or-leave-it.

The smaller changes worth knowing

Beyond the headline tweaks, beta 5 quietly cleans up several everyday screens:

Control Center no longer shows your cellular network type (5G or LTE) while you’re on Wi-Fi.
Contacts displays company names under people’s names in lists and search results.
Wallet’s Create a Pass feature now works outside the US, MacRumors found.
Software Update shows when you last installed an update.
Battery settings can warn you when a weak cellular signal is draining your battery.
Mail adds a Personalize Smart Replies toggle, off by default.
The 5G+ indicator expands to EE in the UK and carriers in Spain.

What comes next

This build will likely roll out to public beta testers as iOS 27 public beta 3 in the coming days. The final release is expected in September alongside the new iPhone lineup, so the remaining betas should keep the bug-fix focus that started with beta 4’s Camera, Siri, and CarPlay fixes.

iOS 27 runs on the iPhone 11 and later, plus the iPhone SE 2 and newer, though Siri AI and the wider Apple Intelligence features need recent hardware. If you don’t mind beta bugs, you can install the iOS 27 developer beta on a compatible iPhone right now.