I'm curious if anyone here has installed watchOS 27 Beta 1 yet and can share their experiences, particularly from a VoiceOver perspective.
I've been running iOS 27 Beta 1 on my iPhone 17 Pro since release day, and so far it's been surprisingly solid. The only noticeable issue I've encountered is a bug with 24-hour time formatting, which isn't a major problem for me. Overall, it's been a very smooth experience.
Because of that, I'm now starting to look at watchOS 27. However, the Apple Watch is always the device that makes me hesitate the most during beta season. Unlike the iPhone or Mac, there is no simple path back to the public release once you've installed a beta, so if a major VoiceOver issue appears, you're generally stuck with it until the next beta arrives.
I've seen a few YouTube videos from people who have installed watchOS 27 already, but those are mostly from a sighted perspective. While that's useful, it doesn't necessarily tell me what I really want to know: how usable is it day-to-day with VoiceOver?
So I'm wondering:
- Have any VoiceOver users installed watchOS 27 Beta 1?
- Are there any major accessibility regressions?
- Any showstopper bugs?
- How is general stability and responsiveness?
- Have you noticed any new accessibility features or improvements?
At the moment, I'm still sitting on the fence and waiting for feedback from other VoiceOver users before taking the plunge.
That said, if history is any indication, I'm probably just delaying the inevitable. Every year I tell myself I'm going to wait, and every year I end up installing Beta 1 before Beta 2 arrives anyway. Maybe I'm not really deciding whether to install it so much as deciding how many more days I can hold out before curiosity wins.
I'd appreciate any reports from those who have already taken the risk. 😄