Apple iOS 27 is adding a major Messages overhaul with AI overviews, one-tap suggestions, and a new Drawing feature. The update lands first in beta, so iPhone users can test the changes before September if they enroll in the Beta Software Program.
Messages changes in Apple iOS 27
The Messages app now summarizes lengthy texts with AI overviews, which should help readers get the point of a thread faster without opening every line. It also offers one-tap suggestions that can appear under the relevant message or above the keyboard when replying.
Sebastien Marineau-Mes said during WWDC in early June that "Siri AI can draft text messages in a user's voice based on previous correspondence with a recipient," which shows how the new messaging tools are meant to feel less generic. Apple also says the app supports RCS 2.7, the latest standard released in 2024 by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association.
Drawing and progress bar updates
The new Drawing feature appears in the extra options menu and matches the version already in Notes, where users can add text, shapes, stickers, and signatures. Digital Touch remains available in iOS 27, so the app keeps the older sketch-and-tap tools even as it adds the newer drawing option.
Messages also gets a new progress bar when sending messages, photos, voice memos, and other items. The bar now sits under the sending item instead of at the top of Messages under the recipient's name, which makes upload status easier to track in the thread itself.
Beta access before September
Beta testing is already open for users who enroll in Apple’s Beta Software Program, but iOS 27 will not be available for download until September. A reader who wants the new Messages tools early can try the beta now, while everyone else is waiting on the public release. Apple iOS 27 public beta details
The unresolved piece is device compatibility, because Apple has not said which iPhone models will get the Messages changes.
