# iOS 27 lands, and Siri finally gets a brain

> Apple shipped its 2026 OS updates with an LLM-powered Siri, a Liquid Glass opacity slider, and the last Mac release that runs Intel apps.
- Title: iOS 27 lands, and Siri finally gets a brain · Ars Technica
- Summary: Apple shipped its 2026 OS updates with an LLM-powered Siri, a Liquid Glass opacity slider, and the last Mac release that runs Intel apps. The headline…
- Keywords: apple, ios 27, siri, macos, technology, science, iOS, lands, finally, gets, brain, Ars Technica
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/apple/2026/09/apple-releases-ios-27-macos-golden-gate-27-with-siri-ai-and-liquid-glass-refinements
- Published: 2026-09-14T19:28:42+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: apple, ios 27, siri, macos, ai, technology, science
## The whole lineup ships
Apple pushed iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27 on the same day. Every supported device can update now.
## Siri gets rebuilt
A large language model now sits under Siri on every platform except tvOS. It reads what is on your screen, digs through old emails and texts, and acts inside apps that added support.
## A Siri app, and prompts that build things
There is now a standalone Siri app, closer to ChatGPT or Claude than to the old assistant. You can also generate Shortcuts automations and Safari extensions from a written prompt.
## Five models doing the work
On device you get AFM 3 Core at 3 billion parameters and AFM 3 Core Advanced at 20 billion. Heavier requests go to AFM 3 Cloud, ADM 3 Cloud for images, and AFM 3 Cloud Pro.

> uses a sparse architecture, activating just 1 to 4 billion parameters at a time depending on the request
## You can dial back Liquid Glass
iOS and macOS both add a slider that controls how transparent or opaque the Liquid Glass look is. macOS gets a pile of smaller fixes answering a year of complaints.

> There's nothing radically new in terms of design here, but this is a much-needed polish pass.
## Small updates everywhere else
macOS adds HDR across system UI and better external monitor support. watchOS brings menopause tracking and a new face but drops Walkie Talkie, and visionOS adds a Thórsmörk environment.
## Rosetta's last ride
iOS 27 runs on iPhone 11 and later, but Siri AI needs an iPhone 15 Pro or 16. Golden Gate needs an M-series Mac and is the final macOS with Rosetta, though old Intel games get a carve-out.
## Key takeaway

The headline upgrade is a rebuilt Siri, but it only runs on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, or newer, and Golden Gate is your final stop for Rosetta.