Apple has released iOS 27, bringing one of the broadest sets of changes to the iPhone this year. While the update includes visual refinements and system-level improvements, its biggest story is the arrival of a more capable Siri alongside a deeper expansion of Apple Intelligence across everyday apps.
iOS 27 is available as a free software update for compatible iPhones through Settings > General > Software Update. The operating system itself supports all iPhones capable of running iOS 26, including the iPhone SE 2, iPhone 11 series and later. However, several of the headline AI features require newer Apple Intelligence-compatible hardware.
Rather than being built around one dramatic redesign, iOS 27 spreads its most useful changes across Siri, Photos, Safari, Camera, Mail, Calendar, accessibility tools and even basic system performance. Here are the standout features that could make the biggest difference in day-to-day use.
Siri AI is the centrepiece of iOS 27
The biggest addition is Siri AI, a new version of Apple’s assistant designed to be more conversational and capable of understanding what is happening across the device.
Siri can draw on personal context, perform actions inside apps, understand information visible on the screen and access broader knowledge when answering questions. Apple is also giving Siri its own dedicated app, where users can return to previous conversations or start new ones. Those conversations can sync privately across Apple devices through iCloud.
That changes Siri from something users mainly call for isolated commands into a tool designed for longer, more continuous interactions.
There is also a redesigned voice experience. On supported devices, users can adjust Siri’s expressivity and speaking pace, with Apple using on-device models for these capabilities on specified newer iPhone models.
Siri can now understand what your camera is seeing
One of the more practical additions is Siri mode in Camera, which connects Visual Intelligence directly with the Camera app.
Users can point the camera at something in front of them and ask questions or perform related actions. Apple’s examples include calculating how to split a bill or looking up nutritional information for food on a plate.
It is a small change in terms of interface, but potentially a significant one in how people interact with information around them. Instead of taking a picture, leaving Camera and searching separately, the idea is to handle the request directly from what the iPhone can see.
Write with Siri brings AI directly into typing
Apple is also expanding Siri beyond voice commands.
Write with Siri can generate a draft, edit existing writing or provide feedback from places where users can type. In Messages and Mail, Siri can even adapt its writing based on the relationship with the recipient, using phrases and punctuation patterns previously used in conversations with that person.
That makes the feature particularly interesting because Apple is not limiting writing assistance to a separate AI application. It is being integrated into apps people already use for everyday communication.
Photos gets three serious editing upgrades
iOS 27 also gives the Photos app several new editing tools powered by Apple Intelligence.
Spatial Reframing allows users to change the composition of a photograph after it has been taken by virtually altering the camera position. The Extend tool can generate additional image content beyond the original edges, helping users straighten a horizon, change an aspect ratio or add extra space around a subject.
The existing Clean Up feature is also becoming more capable. Apple says it can remove larger objects with improved realism and quality, with separate Fast and High Quality modes depending on the complexity of the edit.
For users who regularly edit photos on their iPhone, these may be among the most immediately noticeable AI additions in the update.
Safari can organise tabs and watch webpages for you
Safari receives a set of features aimed less at redesigning the browser and more at reducing repetitive work.
Organize by Topic uses Apple Intelligence to analyse open webpages and automatically group related tabs. That could be particularly useful for users who routinely leave dozens of tabs open while researching, shopping or planning something.
Another feature, Notify Me, can periodically check a webpage for changes such as price movements or product availability. Safari is also gaining Describe an Extension, which lets users describe a change they want to make to a website’s appearance or formatting using natural language.
Among the many features in iOS 27, Notify Me stands out because it turns Safari from a browser users repeatedly check into one that can keep watch on selected pages.
Image Playground gets a much more capable generative model
Apple’s Image Playground has also been upgraded with a new generative model.
It can create images in a wide range of styles, including photorealistic imagery, and allows users to modify images through both touch controls and natural-language instructions. Apple also says the feature can generate Lock Screen wallpapers and Contact Posters with personalised suggestions.
The important change here is not simply image generation. Apple is combining generation, editing and personalisation inside its own software ecosystem.
Shortcuts becomes easier for people who do not build automations
Shortcuts has long been powerful, but creating useful workflows can require some familiarity with how the app works.
iOS 27 introduces Describe a Shortcut, allowing users to explain what they want in natural language and have the system create or refine a shortcut for them.
For users who have avoided Shortcuts because it felt too technical, this could make the automation tool considerably more approachable.
Calendar, Mail and Phone get more contextual intelligence
Some of the most useful iOS 27 improvements are tucked inside familiar apps.
Calendar can create an event from a natural-language description, automatically filling details such as the time, location, invitees and title. Mail can surface suggestions based on the content of an email, including actions such as opening directions to a restaurant connected to a booking.
The Phone app adds Call Context, which can recognise when a user is speaking with certain businesses and proactively surface relevant information from other apps, such as a confirmation code or reservation number.
These are not necessarily flashy features, but they illustrate where Apple is taking iOS 27: using intelligence to surface information at the moment it becomes useful.
Accessibility receives some of the most meaningful improvements
Apple has also expanded several accessibility tools in iOS 27.
VoiceOver receives more detailed contextual understanding of photos, charts and screenshots and can support conversational questions about what is on the screen or in the user’s surroundings. Magnifier adds conversational visual assistance along with natural-language controls for functions such as zooming.
Accessibility Reader can provide improved text cleanup and formatting, handle images and tables, and offer summaries and translations. Voice Control is also more flexible, allowing users to describe interface elements in everyday language, including commands such as asking it to tap a particular button based on its position or appearance.
These updates show that Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 is being used for more than content generation. Some of its strongest applications involve helping users understand and navigate what is on their device.
Parents get more detailed control over children’s iPhones
iOS 27 introduces several additions aimed at child safety and parental controls.
Parents can choose the exact apps available when setting up a new child account. Ask to Browse can require parental approval before a child visits a new website, while Communication Safety protections have been expanded to intervene before children view violent or graphic material in shared photos or videos.
Apple has also added Time Allowances, schedules that control app access at different times of the day, and redesigned Screen Time settings intended to give parents a clearer view of device usage and faster access to controls.
Liquid Glass becomes more adjustable
Apple is refining the Liquid Glass visual design introduced across its software.
In iOS 27, the company says readability has been improved, while a new Settings slider lets users change the appearance from very clear to fully tinted.
That may prove particularly welcome for users who like the design but want more control over how transparent or pronounced it appears.
Faster performance and better search could matter more than the headline features
Not every important iOS 27 change involves AI.
Apple says the update improves performance across areas including app launches, loading new images in the Photos library and AirDrop transfers. Search is also designed to return more relevant and comprehensive results across Spotlight, Photos and Mail.
A new Connectivity Assist feature is intended to make transitions between Wi-Fi and cellular networks more seamless. Apple is also introducing smaller improvements including Custom EQ for AirPods, changes to iCloud Shared Albums, independent volume controls for Alarms and Timers, and additional Cycle Tracking support in the Health app.
These may not attract as much attention as Siri AI, but improvements to speed, search and connectivity are the kinds of changes users can notice repeatedly throughout the day.
Which iOS 27 features matter most?
The defining change in iOS 27 is clearly Apple’s attempt to make intelligence part of the operating system rather than a feature users have to open separately.
Siri can work with on-screen content and personal context. Camera can become a starting point for visual questions. Photos gains more ambitious editing tools. Safari can organise and monitor webpages. Calendar, Mail and Phone can surface information based on what a user is doing.
At the same time, Apple has not limited the update to AI. Liquid Glass is becoming more customisable, system performance is being improved, parental controls are expanding and accessibility tools are gaining new ways to interpret visual and textual information.
Not every feature will be available on every compatible iPhone. While iOS 27 itself supports the same iPhone range as iOS 26, Apple Intelligence features require supported hardware, including the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max as well as newer compatible models.
For users with supported devices, however, the most interesting part of iOS 27 may not be any single feature. It is the way Apple is beginning to connect intelligence with the apps and tasks people already use throughout the day.
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