Long-Awaited Features
If you haven't updated your iPhone or Mac to the newest update—iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate—you're missing out. For one, Siri is finally, finally better now, and with other impressive AI-powered editing tools, your iPhone or Mac can handle some pretty serious stuff. Did you know you can now make a browser extension just by describing it? Yep, there's all that and more on this list of 20 standout additions.
1. Siri Can Finally Have Real Conversations
Gone are the days when Siri understood nothing! Well, okay, it's still not the perfect assistant, but it's gotten a heck of a lot better. Rather than responding to simple commands, Siri can engage in longer conversations, understand personal context, and even has a dedicated app to revisit previous chats.
2. Your iPhone Camera Can Answer Questions
If you're familiar with Android's Circle to Search, now your iPhone has something similar. Ever spotted something in the wild and wanted to know what it was? With Siri mode in Camera, you can point your device at the object and ask about it—no need to take a picture!
3. Your Mac Can Understand What's on Your Screen
It's not just your iPhone camera that can do magic, however. In macOS 27, Visual Intelligence now allows you to ask Siri about a particular thing on your screen, be it a photo, webpage, or anything else. This feature is especially convenient when researching or studying.
4. You Can Reframe Photos After Taking Them
If you've ever taken a photo and didn't like the exact angle of it, Apple's new Spatial Reframing feature lets you do just that. No need to retake separate pictures anymore, which can be a headache for large groups! All you need to do is adjust it straight from the settings.
5. You Can Expand Photos Beyond Their Original Borders
Adjusting the framing isn't the only thing you can do on iOS 27. Ever taken a picture only to realize you accidentally cropped it too close? Don't worry: the new Extend tool can generate additional content beyond your photo's existing boundaries. Perfect for making wallpapers!
6. You Can Create and Customize Your Own Genmoji
No more do you have to beg for Apple to release specific emojis; after all, you can now make your own. With the new revamped Genmoji feature, you can create personalized emojis using text descriptions or even combine existing emojis together, so you always have something that conveys exactly what you're feeling.
7. Safari Can Organize Your Messy Tabs Automatically
How many tabs do you have open at the moment? Ten? Twenty? Well, provided you're using Safari, tabs can be automatically grouped by topic, making everything easier to navigate. It's a particularly welcome add-on for people who regularly research several things at once!
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8. Safari Can Notify You When Prices Drop
Grouping tabs by topic isn't the only thing Safari can do. Eyeing something you've been waiting for a price drop on? Instead of refreshing the page every day (or every minute), you can now leave it all to Safari's Notify Me. Simply tell it what you want it to watch out for, and it'll ping you as soon as it meets those conditions. Neat, huh?
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9. You Can Create Shortcuts Just by Describing Them
Apple's Shortcuts app has always been useful for automation, but with finicky controls, you probably haven't taken advantage of its features as much as you would've liked. Well, no more! In iOS 27, simply describe what shortcut you want, and Apple Intelligence can do the rest.
10. You Can Create Safari Extensions Just by Describing Them
Another thing you can simply describe in plain language? Safari extensions. Yep: you can just tell Safari what kind of an extension you want, whether that's adding a focus timer or a button to save your favorite recipes, and poof—it'll do it, no coding required. Just test and refine it before saving it!
11. You Can Split Restaurant Bills by Scanning Receipts
Splitting dinner expenses among friends can be pretty tedious, but you can leave it up to Apple Intelligence and Apple Cash to calculate everyone's payments by simply scanning the receipt. Keep in mind, though, that this feature depends on Apple Cash availability, which may limit where it can be used.
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12. Your Wallet Can Store Any Pass
Instead of only storing credit cards and loyalty cards, Apple Wallet can store, well, pretty much any pass. Just take a photo of the ticket, and you'll have a digital requirement in no time! Once saved, those passes can be presented as barcodes or QR codes directly from your iPhone or Apple Watch.
13. You Can Set Exact Expiration Times for Location Sharing
Apple's Find My app now gives you much more control over how long other people can see your location—just choose a custom duration or specify when sharing should end. No more worrying about your friends potentially tracking your every move!
14. Videos Can Get Automatically Generated and Translated Captions
Like watching videos on mute? Thankfully, with the newest updates, automatic subtitles can be created for whatever you're watching. Of course, they won't always be entirely accurate, but they'll still help you follow along. What's more, it can also translate existing captions into other languages.
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15. Your iPhone Can Find Important Information During Calls
Imagine calling an airline and realizing you've forgotten where you saved your booking confirmation. Yikes! Don't worry, though—with Apple's new Call Context feature, relevant information will pop up when you're making related calls, so you don't have to go sifting beforehand.
16. Your Mac's Calendar Understands Plain English
Safari isn't the only thing that understands plain English. In fact, if you ever found it tedious to create calendar events, macOS 27 now makes it more intuitive. As you might have guessed, you can simply describe what you want! If your plans change, just edit the description, and the app will adjust the event accordingly.
17. Your Mac Can Better Handle Ultrawide Monitors
Work with large external monitors? You'll be happy to hear that Apple has expanded support for higher resolutions and refresh rates on ultrawide displays. Plus, the system can even preserve your display settings and arrangements, so you won't need to reset it each time.
18. Your Mac Can Suggest File and Folder Names for You
We know, we know—coming up with file names isn't the hardest thing to do on the planet, but when you have to rename a bunch, it can get tiring. In the newest update, though, Apple Intelligence can analyze the contents of your files and suggest relevant names automatically, so no need to come up with 20 different ways of labeling similar items!
19. You Can Customize How Your AirPods Sound
The long-awaited EQ is finally here for audiophiles with AirPods. Sure, it's a pretty simple one (you can only adjust low, mid, and high frequencies), but it's still better than nothing. Whether you prefer more prominent bass or clearer vocals, you can tailor your buds to your liking.
20. You Can Finally Customize the Liquid Glass Look
Not a big fan of Apple's Liquid Glass design? You can get rid of that awful transparency with iOS 27 and macOS 27. Just use the slider to customize the appearance, and you'll finally get to go back to one that's easier on your eyes and won't be so difficult to read on. Phew!
