Apple announced iPadOS 27 at WWDC 2026, and the public beta is landing in July. If you want to try the new features before the official release this September, the public beta is the easiest and safest way to do it. You do not need a paid developer account, just an Apple Account, a compatible iPad, and a few minutes to get everything set up.
Here is exactly what to do, from checking compatibility to filing your first bug report.
- Confirm your iPad is compatible with iPadOS 27. iPadOS 27 runs on the iPad mini (6th generation or later), iPad (9th generation or later), 11-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation or later), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (4th generation or later), and iPad Air (4th generation or later). If your iPad is not on that list, specifically the iPad mini 5th generation, iPad 8th generation, iPad Air 3rd generation, 11-inch iPad Pro 1st generation, or 12.9-inch iPad Pro 3rd generation, it will not support iPadOS 27. This is a considerably more aggressive pruning than iPadOS 26, which dropped only a single model. For a full walkthrough of the iPadOS 27 beta installation process, including the developer beta path, see our dedicated guide.
- Check your Apple Intelligence tier before you install. Basic Apple Intelligence features require an M1-powered iPad Air or iPad Pro at minimum. The most advanced on-device AI capabilities, including the new Siri AI and iPadOS 27 AI features, require an M4 iPad with at least 12GB of RAM. Siri AI has a waitlist even on eligible hardware, and it is not available in the European Union due to Digital Markets Act compliance issues, or in China.
- Back up your iPad before you do anything else. Beta software can cause data loss, and the window to downgrade closes permanently when iPadOS 27 ships publicly in September 2026. Back up via iCloud by going to Settings, tapping your name, selecting iCloud, then iCloud Backup, and tapping Back Up Now. Alternatively, connect your iPad to a Mac and use Finder to create a local backup, which is faster to restore from. Whichever method you choose, confirm the backup completed successfully before moving on.
- Sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program. Open a browser on any device and go to beta.apple.com. Sign in with your Apple Account and accept the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement. The program is free and open to anyone with an Apple Account; no paid developer membership is required.
- Enroll your iPad via Software Update settings. On the iPad you want to enroll, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and select the iPadOS public beta option. This step will not be actionable until Apple releases the public beta, so if the option is absent or grayed out, the beta has not launched yet. Check back in the coming days.
- Download and install the beta. Once the public beta is live and your device is enrolled, return to Settings > General > Software Update and the iPadOS 27 beta will appear as an available update. Tap Download and Install, making sure your iPad is on Wi-Fi and connected to power before starting, as the update file is large. Your iPad will restart once or twice during installation.
- Submit feedback when you encounter issues. The point of a public beta is to surface bugs before the September release. When something behaves unexpectedly, open the Feedback Assistant app, which is installed automatically alongside the beta, and file a report. Include the steps to reproduce the issue and any relevant screenshots. Apple engineers read these submissions, and they directly influence what gets fixed before the final release.
The public beta will be more polished than the developer builds circulating since the WWDC 2026 keynote in early June, developers are already on iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 Beta 2, but it is still pre-release software. Before you install, check our iOS 27 developer beta risk checklist to decide whether your device is a good candidate. Apple reports that app launches, AirDrop transfers, keyboard load times, and file browsing are all faster in iPadOS 27, with file transfers to external USB drives up to five times faster and on par with Finder on a Mac. iPadOS 27 also lets you create Shortcuts by describing what you want in plain language. If you later decide the beta is not for you, restore from the backup you created in Step 3 before iPadOS 27 ships publicly in September 2026, because that downgrade path closes once the final release is out.
