iOS 27.3 Beta Brings Redesigned Health App and StandBy to All iPhones

Apple has put out the first beta of iOS 27.3, and it brings back the redesigned Health app that was dropped from the final iOS 27.2 release. The update also moves the iPhone Duo’s upgraded StandBy mode to every iPhone and gives Siri AI new actions inside many of Apple’s own apps, according to 9to5Mac.

Most iPhone owners will not see it right away. 9to5Mac expects the public release sometime in the first half of December, based on when Apple shipped its December updates in past years.

A new Health app with a “Health age”

The rebuilt Health app has three tabs: Insights, Longevity and Browse. Its layout changes depending on the data you have, and it uses Apple Intelligence. Under Longevity, a Health age feature compares your Apple Watch metrics with your real age. People with an Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4 also get quick access to a morning Readiness score.

Fitness+ subscribers get Gym Strength, which builds four-week training plans from your goals, experience level, schedule and the equipment you have. Each new week adjusts to the reps and weights you recorded the week before.

iPhone Duo gets one-handed help

On the iPhone Duo, iOS 27.3 adds Reachability for the wide outer screen. It slides the interface left or right so the far corners are easier to tap with one hand. You trigger it by swiping right along the right edge or left along the left edge. It is switched on by default, and you can turn it off under Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Reachability. The Duo keyboard also changes slightly: keys are a bit narrower and the letters a bit smaller.

StandBy, the clock-style screen an iPhone shows while charging on its side, gets the Duo treatment on all models. That means redesigned Analog and Digital Clock faces, more color and complication choices, and Shared Albums support in the Photos face.

Siri AI reaches more apps and languages

Apple says it has started rolling out new Siri AI abilities in apps such as Calendar, Files, Mail, Maps, Messages, Notes, Photos, Reminders, Safari and Weather. Apple’s examples include finding a coffee shop you went to last week or archiving files you have not opened in more than a year. Siri AI also adds French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

Developers can now test a way to plug their own apps into Siri AI through App Intents, in what Apple calls an “early Developer Preview.” The company said this will begin reaching customers in a few months. That could let people ask Siri to check a delivery or book a table inside third-party apps.

In China, iOS 27.3 brings the first wave of Apple Intelligence features for the first time. That set includes live translation, writing tools, Genmoji, Clean Up in Photos, email and notification summaries, and Type to Siri. Siri AI and the newer iOS 27 features are not part of it.

Safari, Music and smaller changes

Safari gets an optional vertical tab layout on the iPhone Duo’s inner display, with tabs running down the left side. The same layout comes to Mac and iPad with macOS 27.3 and iPadOS 27.3. A new Adaptive Dark Mode can darken websites that lack their own dark theme, either automatically or one site at a time.

Apple Music adds Selfie Sing, which records a video of you singing karaoke. Start a song, open the lyrics view and tap the camera button on the right. Lyrics in landscape mode also get a cleaner design.

Other changes reported by 9to5Mac:

• Control Center now lets you pick between VPNs instead of only toggling the last one used.
• Settings has a new “Use Global Privacy Control” switch; Apple’s support page for it is not live yet.
• Freeform gets tools for generating custom shapes and images.

What it means for iPhone owners

For most people, the visible changes will be the Health app, the new StandBy faces and smarter Siri requests in Apple’s apps. iPhone Duo owners get the most practical fixes for one-handed use. Because iOS 27.1 was only for the iPhone Duo, 9to5Mac says iOS 27.3 plays the role an x.2 update normally would.

When iOS 27.3 is expected

Apple has not announced a date. Its recent December updates arrived on Dec. 12, 2025, Dec. 11, 2024, Dec. 11, 2023, Dec. 13, 2022 and Dec. 13, 2021. Beta features can still change or be pulled before release, as happened with the Health app in iOS 27.2.

Source: 9to5Mac