iOS 27 Is Here. It’s Time to Meet the New, Improved Siri.

Last week, I was at a parking machine and needed to input my license plate number. I don’t have it committed to memory, so I asked Siri.

Immediately it rattled off the numbers and letters, which it found in a photo of my vehicle registration renewal notice. Wait a minute—this new Siri actually helps?

For the past couple of months, I’ve experienced the magical highs—and a few disappointing lows—of Siri’s Apple Intelligence overhaul. Now you can too. iOS 27, which includes Siri AI, is ready to download. In my video, I share some prompts to get you started.

Back up your iPhone, then go to Settings > General > Software Update to start the download. If you prefer stability, wait a few weeks for the first update with bug fixes.

And yes, I know there’s much talk of an AI doomsday. Even with its new superpowers, this Siri isn’t the type of cutting-edge AI that’s stoking the concerns, but you can still opt out in Settings.

iOS 27 marks the beginning of an iPhone divide. Only Apple Intelligence-capable newer models starting with the iPhone 15 Pro will get Siri AI and other AI-powered features. Older iPhones get less flashy tricks. This split makes Apple’s release more confusing, so I divided this guide into two parts.

Siri AI: There are now new ways to get to Siri AI, aside from the usual “Hey Siri.”

The iPhone’s live-in assistant now relies, in part, on Google’s Gemini models to answer questions. Siri AI can look through your iPhone’s most private data, which you wouldn’t want ending up in a data breach or training a future model. Apple says for cloud-based requests, the company doesn’t store your data, and neither Apple nor Google can access it.

For the most part, Siri AI is far less embarrassing than classic Siri, but like other chatbots, it’s sometimes wrong. It also takes a beat longer than ChatGPT and Claude to respond and acts more cautiously compared with those bots, warning that it “may make mistakes” and is “not a doctor.”

On-screen awareness: Siri can see whatever is on your screen, no matter the app.

While watching a video of a pastry class I took, I realized I forgot the name of the dessert. Siri quickly got it right, “Tarte Tropézienne.”

While on the U.S. Open’s website, I asked Siri to add the semifinals and finals schedule to my Google calendar via Apple’s Calendar app. In Gmail, Siri compiled a packing checklist from a school email.

Camera smarts: In the camera’s Siri mode, point the camera at an object and tap the Siri icon for an immediate response. You can tap the speech bubble icon to type a question, or the magnifying glass to search for the object on Google and other platforms.

Suggested actions will pop up automatically for certain items: Snap a snack or dish to see its nutritional value; snap a receipt to calculate how to split the bill.

Personal context: Siri can search for content across Apple’s native apps, such as Messages. After I first enabled the assistant, it took Siri several days to completely index my phone’s content.

Asking, “When was my son’s dentist appointment?” pulled the date from a text reminder, while “What’s my passport number?” retrieved the data from Photos.

This aspect of Siri AI—potentially its most powerful—will only be successful if developers let their apps work with Apple’s assistant. My most-used services aren’t made by Apple, including WhatsApp, Signal, Slack and Google’s apps.

These companies might be working on their own assistants, and a Siri integration could be seen as aiding and abetting the competition.

Photo make-believe: I’m conflicted about the new suite of Apple Intelligence photo-editing tools. Is it magic—or deception?

On any photo, tap Edit, then Tools. The Extend button zooms out on close-ups, generating visuals to fill the empty space. Meanwhile, Reframe lets you pivot the subjects in your picture, so that it looks like you were in a different spot when you snapped the photo.

In a few pictures, the tools did weird stuff to faces where there wasn’t enough information, but I was generally impressed—and creeped out—by the results.

Custom wallet passes: I initially thought this was a meh update, but it’s already saved me several times. My husband and I share a pass to our local pool that I constantly forget at home. Now I have a digital version on my phone.

In Wallet, tap on the plus sign to Create a Pass, and point the camera at any ticket or membership card.

Even if you have a model as old as the iPhone 11, there’s plenty of practical improvements for you in iOS 27, not to mention performance boosters, such as up to 80% faster AirDrop transfers. Here are some non-AI perks:

Less Liquid Glass: Remember last year’s interface redesign, the one nobody asked for? Menus are now less transparent by default, and a slider in Settings > Appearance > Liquid Glass lets you adjust the opacity to your liking.

Green bubble replies: You can now send in-line replies and emoji reactions to photos in iPhone-Android conversations over Rich Communication Services or RCS. Enable it in Settings > Apps > Messages. Many carriers also now support end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging.

Alarm volume setting: If you’ve ever suffered a late wake-up because of a too-quiet alarm, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and under Alarms and Timers, disable Match Ringtone Volume to set an independent alarm volume.

Hide location: To temporarily shield your location without notifying them, go to Find My > People, select a contact, tap the ellipses and choose Hide Location. It’s ideal for surprise parties—or avoiding friends’ FOMO if you’re doing something cool without them.

XL widgets: You can now fill an entire page of your homescreen with a single widget. Tap and hold the home screen, and select the paint brush at top left, select Add Widget, then scroll through options. Not all widgets have a full-screen option, but my favorite one, Photos, does.