Apple iOS 27.2: New features for 6 iPhone apps, plus an urgent security update
A new setting lets you choose which kinds of suggestions show up
Your iPhone just got smarter, and one quick tap will make it a lot safer. iOS 27.2 is a small update with a long reach: it touches six Apple apps, from Messages that suggest your next move to FaceTime calls that show two views at once. Now Apple has followed up with iOS 27.2.1, a patch that fixes serious security holes and should go on your phone today.
Here is everything worth knowing, app by app.
Messages: your chats now suggest the next step
What's new: Suggested actions. When a message mentions a plan, a task or a detail worth saving, a shortcut appears under it to create a calendar event, set a reminder or add it to a note.
Back by popular demand: The feature appeared in the iOS 27 beta over the summer but was pulled before the public release. It returns in 27.2 in a reworked form.
You're in control: A new setting lets you choose which kinds of suggestions show up.
9to5Mac calls it one of its favourite Messages additions of the year.
Apple TV: profiles land on iPhone and iPad
What's new: Separate viewer profiles, so each person on a shared account keeps their own watch history and recommendations.
Why it matters: Netflix and most rivals have offered this for years, and Apple TV already had it on tvOS. iPhone and iPad finally catch up.
What you'll see: A profile picker greets you when you open the TV app. It's a one-time switch-off if you don't want it.
Best for: parents who hand their phone to the kids.
FaceTime: Dual Capture goes group
The background: iOS 27 introduced Dual Capture, which streams your front and rear cameras at the same time during a call.
What's new: It now works on Group FaceTime calls, not just one-on-one.
How to use it: Tap the usual flip-camera button. On iPhone 17 and later, both feeds go out together by default.
Home: smarter smart locks
Two new options arrive for compatible locks, timed to Apple's latest push into home products.
Lock After Closing: Set your door to lock automatically a chosen time after it shuts. Until now, the timer could only count from when the door was unlocked.
Door Left Open: Get an alert when a door has stayed open longer than the window you set.
Podcasts: Up Next gets untangled
The single Up Next queue on the Home tab is now two:
New Episodes: only fresh releases from shows you follow.
Continue Playing: everything you started but haven't finished.
It builds on recent upgrades such as AI-generated chapters and transcripts.
Games: Small but handy tweaks
Home tab: Games you've downloaded but never opened now appear, not just ones you've played.
Progress tracking: Achievements and leaderboard scores are easier to follow at a glance.
Friends tab: Friend suggestions now come with context, and friends' profiles list the games they played recently.
Don't skip iOS 27.2.1: it's a security fix
Released on Monday alongside iPadOS 27.2.1, this follow-up adds no features. What it does add is protection, and that makes it the more urgent install, as Mashable reports.
What it fixes: Apple's release notes list nine bugs. Among them:
An app that could reach sensitive user data
An attacker pairing with your device without any action from you
A remote attacker slipping into an iMessage group chat and reading its messages
The Binance warning: On Tuesday, crypto exchange Binance, itself hit by a major breach in late October, flagged a flaw it calls worse_query. It says the bug, found in iOS 26.7.1, 27.0.1 and 27.2, lets malicious apps read other apps' local files, exposing seed phrases, private keys and passwords. Binance stressed this is an iOS-wide problem, not one limited to its own app.
What to do now:
Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 27.2.1.
Not on iOS 27 yet? Install iOS 26.7.3 or iOS 18.7.12 instead.
Update all your apps, and delete any you installed from untrusted sources, as Binance advises.
