Apple’s most significant Siri overhaul since the assistant debuted in 2011 ships today, free, inside iOS 27. Most of the headline features require iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model, so your experience depends entirely on what’s in your pocket.
Apple Intelligence, the on-device and cloud-assisted AI layer that first appeared in iOS 18, gets its most substantial expansion yet. A rebuilt assistant, now branded Siri AI, sits at the center of it.
What’s New in iOS 27
Apple frames this release as a foundational shift, not a routine update.
According to Apple’s June 2026 newsroom announcement, Siri AI is “a profoundly more capable and personal assistant,” currently available for developer testing across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27.
Getting iOS 27 is straightforward: open Settings, tap General, then Software Update. The update is free for supported devices.
The 10 Features Worth Opening First
These are the features with the most practical day-one impact, listed in order of reach for most users.
- Siri AI: Apple’s rebuilt assistant pulls context from your messages, emails, photos, and app content while keeping processing on-device where possible, according to Apple.
- Visual Intelligence: Point your camera at text, objects, or scenes to copy, translate, search, or identify content. Introduced in iOS 18.2 and expanded here; requires iPhone 15 Pro or any iPhone 16 model.
- Writing Tools: Proofread, rewrite, summarize, or generate text system-wide wherever you can type. Optional ChatGPT integration handles heavier tasks.
- Photos Clean Up: Remove unwanted objects from photos with AI-assisted background fill, one of Apple Intelligence’s most practical tools since its debut.
- Liquid Glass UI: A new visual design language with adjustable opacity for buttons, toolbars, and menus. Specific slider controls are not yet fully documented in Apple’s public materials.
- Safari Intelligence: AI-assisted tab organization and extension tools built on Apple’s app intent system. Detailed behaviors are not yet in Apple’s public newsroom; treat this as early-access territory.
- Home App and HomeKit Secure Video: AI-driven scene descriptions and smarter video search, with richer storage features tied to paid iCloud+ tiers.
- Photos Extend and Reframe: Composition-adjusting tools consistent with Apple’s Image Wand direction; exact feature labels are not yet in official Apple documentation.
- AirPods Custom EQ: Per-model equalizer controls covering lows, mids, and highs for AirPods Pro 2 and newer. The full supported model list is not yet publicly confirmed by Apple.
- Shortcuts AI Builder: Describe an automation in plain language and the system builds the shortcut, refining it through follow-up prompts rather than manual block editing.
What to Know Before You Update
Hardware, language settings, and cost determine how much of iOS 27 you actually get.
Apple Intelligence and Siri AI require iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 and later. Baseline iOS 27 installs on a broader device range, similar to iOS 18’s supported list, but older hardware misses most of the marquee features.
Initial Apple Intelligence and Siri AI capabilities also require specific English locale settings. International availability is gradual, and details for additional languages remain unclear.
The OS update itself is free. Expanded HomeKit Secure Video AI features require a paid iCloud+ subscription, though Apple has not yet published exact tier thresholds for iOS 27-specific storage.
If your hardware qualifies, Siri AI and Visual Intelligence alone make a compelling case for updating today. If it does not, iOS 27 still delivers a cleaner, more responsive baseline, with a clear signal that Apple’s next hardware cycle is where this AI stack fully opens up.
