The quiet sequel

iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 are out. No Liquid Glass-sized redesign this time, but the everyday stuff underneath got a real pass.

“There's still plenty here that could change how you use your device.”

Stability is the headline

Most of this release is quality-of-life work you feel rather than see. Shortcuts got much easier to set up, and Siri got the big AI rebuild.

Your iPhone probably works

Anything from 2019 on is supported: iPhone 11 and up, plus the second-gen iPhone SE. If your phone ran iOS 26, it runs iOS 27.

iPads are messier

A few models get cut, including the 8th-gen iPad from 2020 and the 5th-gen iPad Mini. You need iPad 9th gen and later, iPad Mini 6th gen and later, or an iPad Pro 11-inch 2nd gen and up.

Back up before you tap

Go to Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, iCloud Backup, Back Up Now. Then Settings, General, Software Update to install. Your device restarts, so budget several minutes.

Siri needs to read you first

On setup, Siri AI asks to index your phone, apps, and data. That indexing takes anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days before the assistant is fully useful.

The AI catch

Getting the update does not mean getting the features. Apple Intelligence still requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer and select iPads, so older devices miss most of the AI additions.

Siri, rebuilt with Gemini

The new Siri runs on Apple's third-generation foundation models, built with Google's Gemini. Apple says none of it runs on Google infrastructure and no Siri data goes to Google.

“A more capable assistant.”

A glass orb and its own app

Siri now looks like a glass orb, takes typing or natural speech, and has a dedicated app that stores past conversations. Start one on your iPhone, pick it up on your iPad.

Siri in the camera

Point the camera and ask, like Google Lens. Aim it at a restaurant bill and Siri will split the tab between you and your friends.

It knows your context

Siri can search your emails, messages, and photos to answer a question, then act: draft an email in a set tone, or suggest wine for a dish. Its voice, pace, and expressiveness are adjustable.

Everything got faster

Apple claims app launches up to 30 percent faster, new photos loading up to 70 percent faster, and AirDrop up to 80 percent faster. A better CPU scheduler carries gains back to the iPhone 11.

No more dead minute

The iPhone handles the Wi-Fi to cellular handoff better, so leaving the house should not mean a minute of no service while the phone makes up its mind.

Dial back the glass

Settings, Appearance, Liquid Glass now has an intensity slider running from super clear to more opaque. Icons are sharper and Apple tuned the design for readability and contrast.

Parents get real controls

A Setup Assistant picks a child's apps at first boot, Ask to Browse routes new Safari sites to a parent for approval, and Communication Safety blurs nudity and violence in Messages and FaceTime.

Time budgets by category

Time Allowances cap how long kids spend in app categories like Entertainment, with Apple's age-based guidance. Schedules set which apps work when, all in a redesigned dashboard.

Photos learns to invent

Clean Up removes objects better, Extend adds to a photo's edges, and Spatial Reframing shifts perspective and fills the gaps. Faces and pets are preserved where possible.

Free, up to a point

The Photos tools live under Edit, then Tools. Apple caps how often you can use them, and Image Playground's new photorealistic model has the same daily limits. More use means a bigger iCloud plan.

One-tap and one delay

The Phone app's Call Context surfaces your flight details while you're on hold with Delta. The Magic Cue-style buttons in Messages and Mail got cut from launch and arrive in a later update.

Describe it, don't build it

Shortcuts now takes plain English: say "Text my wife my ETA when I leave work" and it wires up location, Maps, traffic, and Messages. Safari does the same for custom extensions and groups tabs by topic.