Article · AI translation
Thanks to IT Home reader OkayTech for the tip!
IT Home reported on November 5 that Apple released the iOS 27.3 developer preview Beta update for iPhone in the early hours of yesterday morning.
In addition to “Apple Intelligence and Siri” for the Chinese market, IT Home found in its own testing that Safari has also received an important feature update: support for adaptive dark mode. When a website does not itself support a dark appearance, Safari can automatically apply one to each webpage. This means users browsing late at night need not worry about being suddenly dazzled by a bright page when moving between webpages.
However, some websites may not work properly:
Elements may have low contrast;
Colors may differ;
Some websites are not supported.
The vast majority of webpages can adapt to this new feature, but there are exceptions, such as Apple’s own Newsroom website.
Further reading
Safari’s adaptive dark mode works by using Apple Intelligence to analyze webpages. Once enabled, the browser automatically adjusts light backgrounds, text contrast, graphic colors, and shadows so that pages remain clear and readable in a dark appearance. Website developers can add a specific tag to a page’s code to prevent the feature from changing its appearance, preserving the original colors.
In addition to adaptive dark mode, this Safari 27.3 beta introduces vertical tabs. Mac and iPad users can enable them through the “View” menu, while iPhone users must enable them in Safari settings. The feature has also been adapted for Apple’s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo. The first iOS 27.3 developer preview (Beta) was released in the early hours of November 4, 2026, with a public release expected in December 2026. Safari 27.3 is also expected to be officially released then alongside iPadOS 27.3 and macOS 27.3.
“Apple Intelligence” for the Chinese market, launched at the same time, marks the first time Apple’s AI system has been opened for testing to users in China since its initial debut in the United States in October 2024. Apple previously announced on October 31, 2026, that the first set of features would be available for testing with the iOS 27.3 developer Beta, with an official rollout planned for December 2026. Apple Intelligence for the Chinese market is being implemented through a partnership between Apple and Alibaba, integrating the Qwen large language model into Siri, writing tools, visual intelligence, and other uses. The related services have completed the generative AI service filing with the Cyberspace Administration of China. It should be noted that the first release of Apple Intelligence for the Chinese market supports only iPhone devices, including the iPhone 16 and later models, iPhone Duo, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. iPad and Mac users will still have to wait.
In addition, Apple introduced systemwide dark mode with iOS 13, released in 2019. Webpages need to adapt using CSS properties such as color-scheme; for pages that have not been adapted, users previously often had to rely on third-party extensions or Reader mode for dark-mode reading.