While iOS 27.2 beta 4 brought a new look for Apple Music and a reference to a new HomePod setting, it also curiously removed an upcoming Apple Health upgrade. Here's what you need to know.
On Tuesday, shortly after unveiling its HomeView and other smart home products, Apple deployed the fourth developer beta of iOS 27.2. The beta software update bears the build number 24B5110a, up from 24B5099f.
In a particularly noticeable visual change, iOS 27.2 beta 4 removes all color from the Apple Music icon. Now, it's just a black musical note on a white background, or inverted in dark mode, rather than the white and red look the icon has used since iOS 14.
Though it might seem like an unusual stylistic change for Apple to make, it's not the first time the company has altered the color scheme of the Apple Music icon. Before the now-replaced orange color, the Apple Music icon on iOS 8.4 through iOS 13 had a multi-colored note against a white background.
It remains to be seen whether the new black-and-white Apple Music icon will make it to the release version of iOS 27.2, especially as Apple may have delayed another feature. The fourth developer beta of iOS 27.2 outright lacks the redesigned Apple Health app seen in previous beta builds.
The app itself features new AI-powered summaries and suggestions, along with layout changes, among other things. It's expected to arrive with iOS 27.2, though Tuesday's developer beta suggests Apple might have other plans regarding when to release it.
In place of the revamped Apple Health app is a message saying the overhaul is "coming later this year." Data on devices running the latest iOS 27.2 beta remains viewable in the Settings app, though.
Additionally, iOS 27.2 beta 4 has a new setting for HomePods. The new slider is labeled Lock Controls. "When Lock Controls is enabled, touch interactions for touch, touch and hold, and volume are disabled," reads the description.
Overall, the fourth developer beta of iOS 27.2 is a relatively minor update, offering virtually nothing beyond the black-and-white Apple Music icon. Depending on what Apple does with its redesigned Health app, the iOS 27.2 update could prove to be less impressive than initially expected.