Summary

Apple has begun rolling out iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 and updates for its other platforms, adding a beta version of Siri AI, new Apple Intelligence features and redesigned child-safety controls. The release also includes Apple-reported performance, connectivity and search improvements.

Apple has started rolling out its 2027 software updates across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro and Apple TV. The September 14 release introduces Siri AI as a beta in English, expands Apple Intelligence across several everyday apps, adds new child-safety controls and brings performance and connectivity improvements across the company’s platforms.

Contents

Siri AI expands across Apple devices

Apple describes Siri AI as a new version of Siri powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence. It is integrated into iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, with capabilities including personal-context understanding, awareness of onscreen content, broader web knowledge and the ability to take actions across system apps.

Personal context allows Siri AI to use relevant information from messages, emails, photos and other content to help locate information. On iPhone, Siri mode is integrated into the Camera app, allowing the assistant to interpret what is in front of the camera and take actions such as splitting a bill or adding a custom pass to Wallet. Visual Intelligence extends similar screen-based interactions to iPhone, iPad and Mac, while Vision Pro users can ask questions about their surroundings by looking at them and speaking to Siri.

Write with Siri can generate a draft or refine existing writing from a description. Apple is also adding a dedicated Siri app whose conversational history can be privately synchronised through iCloud across a user’s Apple devices.

Other Apple Intelligence features include new Photos editing tools, a more capable Clean Up tool, and Image Playground image generation in styles including photorealistic. Apple says generated or edited images will include metadata, with support for the SynthID standard planned in a software update later this year. Safari can organise tabs by topic, notify users about website changes such as restocks or price drops, and create custom extensions from a description. Call Context can surface information such as a confirmation code or reservation number during a call to a business.

Siri AI begins as an English beta. Apple says French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish support is scheduled for October.

New controls for children’s accounts

The update adds a new setup flow for child accounts, allowing parents to select which apps are available from the start and add more over time. Ask to Browse can require approval before a child opens a new website in Safari. Parents can also approve new contacts individually.

Communication Safety now detects and intervenes when gore or violent content is identified in shared images or videos. Apple is also redesigning Screen Time with an overview of average device use and the most-used apps. New controls allow daily total allowances for Entertainment, Games and Social Media apps, while Schedules can control which apps are available at different times of day. Apple says the time-allocation guidance was developed with input from clinical and child-development experts.

Performance, health and platform changes

Apple reports that, in its testing, apps on iPhone and iPad launched up to 30 percent faster, photos loaded up to 70 percent faster after capture and AirDrop transfers were up to 80 percent faster. On iPad, browsing files and transferring them to an external USB drive was up to five times faster. Apple Vision Pro started and connected to Wi-Fi up to three times faster in the company’s testing.

The releases also improve transitions between cellular and Wi-Fi networks. In Messages, large photos and videos can continue sending over low-bandwidth connections without blocking subsequent text messages. Search across Spotlight, Photos and Mail has been revised, and Mail receives a new ranking system for Top Hits. Liquid Glass gains a Settings slider that lets users adjust its appearance from ultraclear to fully tinted.

Additional changes include full-resolution iCloud Shared Albums with easier participation for Android and Windows users, custom EQ for AirPods, and Cycle Tracking support for perimenopause and menopause, including notifications about cycle deviations during perimenopause. Apple states that Cycle Tracking should not be used for birth control or to diagnose a health condition.

Apple Watch gains contextual Smart Stack suggestions and a single-handed tap gesture for opening widgets. Apple Vision Pro can turn panoramas into spatial scenes, while Apple TV adds high-resolution lossless audio support for Apple Music, a redesigned Apple Podcasts app and broader text-size accessibility options.

The updates are rolling out across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27 and tvOS 27. Apple says Apple Intelligence requires supported hardware and a supported language. Eligible products include iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini with A17 Pro, iPad and Mac models with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, and specified recent Apple Watch models.

Availability varies by region, language and local regulations. Siri AI will initially be available on Mac and Apple Vision Pro in the European Union, but not on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS there. Apple Intelligence and Siri AI will not initially be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements. Some server-side Apple Intelligence features also have daily usage limits, with expanded access planned as a paid option in the future.

Sources