After a month with iPadOS 27 on an M4 iPad Air, the biggest change is not another attempt to turn the tablet into a Mac. Apple is building an AI workbench around the Pencil, handwritten notes, visual search, Shortcuts and a dedicated Siri app. The operating system is faster and more polished, but its windowing remains awkward and its headline intelligence is still beta software.

Its full capabilities require heavy developer support, so the public beta feels more like a glimpse at the future.

Apple has just released iPadOS 27 in public beta, so anyone can try the pre-release software in advance of its fall launch. Here’s what’s new.