For years, I haven’t used Siri for anything other than essential tasks like setting a timer or alarm. That has changed with iOS 27, as now I use Siri more often for complex requests and to make sense of the screen.
While Siri is clearly central to this software update by Apple, I also enjoy other quality-of-life improvements.
Siri
I’ve been using iOS 27 on my primary device since the public beta version was released, and on other devices through the developer beta before that. I love using the new Siri, often trying to find new use cases for it – and that’s probably the biggest win for Apple, because I, like many people, gave up on Siri before this update.
Over two years ago, Apple introduced Apple Intelligence and teased an advanced version of Siri. And after much delay, the company delivered it, and it did not disappoint. Built on the back of Google’s Gemini model, Siri is even smarter than its predecessor, built with expanded knowledge and rock-solid ChatGPT integration. It also has a new logo and transition animations.
For starters, I asked Siri about many different things in the field of sports, from the World Cup to team kits and scores. There were some glitches in the previous developer version, but most of the information was correct. Siri can also take complex, multi-step directions. For example, I asked it to find small or hidden and useful features for iOS 27 and add them to the notes, and it did well.
In addition, Siri can draft a message for you and send it to someone.
And because Siri can pull context from your files, messages, and emails, you can ask it to search for conversations, like delivery, and have it generate messages in return.
Siri’s on-screen context is also a huge boon. I can ask small questions like who is the oldest player on the field when I watch the line-up for two teams in the World Cup, or have it read the text on the screen aloud when I don’t want to read. When I’m on a startup’s website, I can ask Siri to find funding information and its competitors.
One of my favorite use cases is surfing around coffee Reddit for new roasters and beans, and asking Siri to add them to a specific note. I had a bit of trouble getting Siri to add it to the correct note, but I ended up rejecting the name of the note for better consistency.
The camera app now has access to Siri, meaning you can ask questions about what’s visible in your viewfinder. When I’m at a restaurant, I ask Siri what I’m drinking. Because of the color of the drink, it says, “This is green juice,” which is a good first guess. When I specified that I was at an Indian restaurant, it correctly said that this could be Jaljeera or Aam Panna. (It was the latter.) I also took a picture of a restaurant sign and asked Siri to recommend the best items from its menu.
You can also take a picture of a coffee bag and ask Siri for the best way to drink coffee.
With iOS 27, Siri AI gets a dedicated app that lets you go back to your previous conversations. In the settings, users can change Siri’s voice and display as well.
The new assistant is positioned to work with other, third-party apps, and as developers update their apps after the operating system launches, it will be interesting to see if there is a handshake between Siri and apps.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence uses many AI features in iOS 27.
For example, Apple has sprinkled vibe-coding features within the new OS. The first is the shortcut creation feature that allows you to describe shortcuts and automatically in natural language to create them. That means you can start with a simple request, like “show me today’s to-do list every morning at 8am” or “convert a picture to a JPEG,” instead of having to figure out how to create a shortcut yourself. After creating a shortcut, you can complicate it by adding additional steps, such as “Convert selected photos to JPEG and share them via AirDrop.”
I always wanted to make a list of songs I heard and liked in bars and cafes, so I created a shortcut to Shazam music and saved both the song and the location.
You can now create custom notifications in Safari to track changes to web pages such as blogs, item prices or privacy policy pages.
The Photos app has some handy new tools like “Frame” and “Zoom.” I found that they are not always good, but in some cases, they can make the image look better. At the same time, Apple has definitely improved the functionality of its eraser, which now has less fake surprises when you remove things.
With Apple Intelligence, when you receive certain messages, such as information for an event or location, Smart Suggestions will ask if you want to add them to your calendar or notes. What’s more, the Passwords app can now automatically change passwords on your behalf by logging into a site.
Improving other quality of life
Before talking about other features, I have to say that I like the new clipboard feature. This lets you easily paste anything — including links, images, videos and text — from one app to another. Once an item is in your clipboard, you’ll see a shortcut that says “Paste from Safari” (or similar) on your keyboard, which lets you paste the item. I’ve used this feature often, and I can’t stress enough how life-changing this is even if it’s a small change.
Additionally, iOS 27 resolves people’s concerns about the appearance of Liquid Glass. Users can now change its transparency based on their preferences. The control is granular, so you don’t have to choose from presets, either.
Apple also introduced Smart Network Switching in this update, which automatically switches the connection from Wi-Fi to mobile data if there is a problem with the wireless connection. Switching is seamless and very useful when you’re doing important work, so you won’t lose your internet connection.
The update focuses more on child safety as well, as it includes a new setup process that automatically recommends essential apps. Additionally, parents can set schedules, schedules, and allowances for different days of the week. Parents can be notified when children access new websites and can remotely approve that access. And the system will show alerts when kids get thumbs up in Messages, FaceTime and other apps.
Apart from Siri AI, iOS 27 doesn’t have many features, but it makes everyday life much easier. In previous years, I would go to ChatGPT or Gemini to find answers to questions. But with iOS 27, I find myself using Siri frequently, even when I’m not in Apple’s Messages and Mail apps.
iOS 27 is rolling out to all users with iPhone 11 or later and iPhone SE (second generation) or later. Users can go to Settings > General > Software Update to download the latest version.
When you purchase through a link in our article, we may receive a small fee. This does not affect the independence of our editors.
