It’s a small improvement, but one that will save you time — and you’ll probably end up using it constantly.
Smartphone screen showing a text message conversation with the keyboard open and a message typed saying “Yea, ranch is king but always down to try new things.”
Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol
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By Tucker Bowe
Published July 23, 2026
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The public beta of iOS 27 has been available for several weeks, giving early adopters a preview of many of the new features coming to iPhones later this fall.
Apple first introduced many of these updates during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, where it unveiled the next generation of its mobile operating system. As expected, there was plenty to get excited about.
iOS 27 brings several major upgrades, including new AI-powered photo editing tools, a redesigned and more customizable Lock Screen, a Liquid Glass adjustment slider, and separate volume controls for alarms, ringtones and notifications. AirPods users will also gain access to a new three-band equalizer.
However, while Apple highlighted many of these features during WWDC, beta testers have discovered several smaller improvements that never received much attention.
One of those hidden gems is a simple quality-of-life upgrade that you’ll likely use almost every day.
A Better Way to Paste
Close-up of a smartphone screen showing a keyboard and a “Photo Paste from Photos” option with a cat emoji above the keyboard.
That’s a photo of a Catan board. I copied it from Photos and pasted it into Messages.
Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol
As discovered by 9to5Mac, iOS 27 introduces a new shortcut that makes copying and pasting content between apps faster and more intuitive.
Here’s how it works.
When you copy an image, piece of text or hyperlink and immediately switch to another app — for example, moving from Safari to Messages — iOS 27 will automatically show a preview of the content you’re about to paste above the keyboard.
Instead of manually tapping the text field and waiting for the Paste option to appear, you’ll instantly see a preview along with a label showing where the content came from.
For example, if you copied something from Safari, your iPhone will display “Paste from Safari” next to the preview.
Close-up of a smartphone screen showing a text message conversation and a keyboard with a pasted note reading “6/28: 4-5, 2 RBI.”
Here you can see a preview in Messages of text copied from Notes.
Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol
Previously, copying something and switching apps required an extra step. You had to tap inside the text box before the Paste option appeared.
The only exception was verification codes. When websites or apps sent a one-time password, iPhones could already recognize the code and suggest pasting it automatically.
With iOS 27, Apple is expanding that same idea to everyday content sharing. Your iPhone now understands that when you copy something and move to another app, you’re probably preparing to paste it — and it gives you a faster way to complete the action.
A Small Change That Makes a Big Difference
This isn’t the kind of feature that will dominate Apple’s keynote presentation, but it’s exactly the type of small improvement that makes using an iPhone feel smoother.
After using it for a while, it’ll likely become second nature — and you may even forget that copying and pasting ever worked any other way.
iOS 27 is expected to launch in September alongside Apple’s next generation of iPhones. The public beta is available now.
