A new Siri, not just a new skin
Apple's latest software wave — iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27 — is rolling out with the headline feature Apple has been promising for years: Siri AI, a rebuilt assistant running on the next generation of Apple Intelligence. It launches as an English-language beta first, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish support arriving in October.
Apple describes the new Siri as understanding personal context pulled from messages, email, and photos, capable of reading what's on a user's screen, and able to reach out to the web for up-to-date answers. On iPhone, Siri is built into the Camera app through a new “Siri mode” that can take action on whatever the camera sees — splitting a restaurant bill and paying friends through Apple Cash, or saving a flyer as a Wallet pass. A companion Siri app syncs conversation history across a person's Apple devices through iCloud, so a chat started on iPhone can continue on Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, or Vision Pro.
Writing help and photo tools built in
A feature called Write with Siri lets people describe what they need — an email, a caption, a summary — and get a draft or feedback on something they've already written. Elsewhere, Photos gains Spatial Reframing, an Extend tool for widening the edges of a shot, and an upgraded Clean Up eraser; Image Playground can now generate photorealistic images alongside its existing stylized options, with upcoming support for the SynthID watermarking standard so AI-made images can be identified later.
Redesigned parental controls
Family-facing changes are just as extensive. A new child-account setup flow lets parents start with a short list of approved apps and expand access gradually, Ask to Browse requires a parent's sign-off before a child can visit a new website in Safari, and Communication Safety now also screens shared photos and videos for gore or violent content. Screen Time has been redesigned around an at-a-glance view of a child's average usage and top apps, with Schedules controlling which apps are available at different times of day.
Everyday speed gains
Apple is also citing measurable performance work: apps reportedly launch up to 30 percent faster on iPhone and iPad, photos load up to 70 percent faster right after they're taken, and AirDrop transfers speed up by as much as 80 percent, according to Apple's internal testing. iPad users get faster file browsing and transfers to external drives, while Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and Mac all pick up their own share of networking and search improvements.
Not every feature is available everywhere on day one — Siri AI's EU rollout is limited to Mac and Vision Pro for now, and it won't be available in China while Apple works through local regulatory requirements. Everyday users on supported hardware, though, can update starting today.
