iOS 27 Siri AI is the centerpiece of Apples WWDC26, delivering what Apple calls Siris largest upgrade just as CEO Tim Cook prepares to hand over the keynote role this fall, Apple said.
Apple announced the software, and a new AI architecture called Siri AI, at its June 8 keynote in Cupertino, California. The company said Tim Cook will step down as CEO on Sept. 1, with John Ternus taking over as CEO and Cook becoming executive chairman.
iOS 27 Siri AI, and a new approach to a personal assistant
Apple said Siri AI is powered by a partnership with Googles Gemini language models and a new set of Apple Foundation Models, giving Siri new reasoning skills and the ability to remember context across apps.
Apple emphasized its privacy rules, saying requests routed through Gemini will be anonymized and not used to train models, and users can disable Gemini integration in Settings.
Siri finally remembers, with cross app context
The most visible change in iOS 27 Siri AI is cross app context understanding, which lets Siri consult your Mail, Messages, Photos, and Safari browsing to connect information and answer questions in one flow, Apple said.
Apple also introduced a standalone Siri app that keeps a conversation history and syncs via iCloud across devices, a design change meant to make Siri act like an ongoing assistant rather than a one time query tool.
Safari gains an intelligent Monitor feature
Apple said a new, Apple Intelligence driven tool called Notify Me lets users tell Safari what to watch. When a tracked page changes, Safari sends a notification so you can act immediately, Apple said.
Passwords and breach recovery, simplified
When the system detects a breached account, Safari and Siri AI can, after your confirmation, open the relevant site, generate a new password, and save it to your password manager, Apple said. The goal is to automate the most tedious part of post breach recovery.
Built in AI photo tools, no third party app required
The Photos app receives several new AI editing features. Clean Up removes unwanted people or objects, Extend fills in background when you change aspect ratio, and Spatial Reframing adjusts perspective and composition after the shot.
Clean Up: remove subjects or clutter, with generative fills intended to look natural
Extend: expand the frame while keeping subjects intact, with AI generating background that matches the scene
Spatial Reframing: change the apparent camera angle and composition after capture
Apple noted some generative features rely on server processing and have daily usage limits, and that iCloud Plus subscribers receive higher quotas.
Image Playground moves toward photorealism
Image Playground adds photorealistic styles in addition to illustration modes, and can combine text prompts with photos from your library to produce personalized visuals, Apple said.
Apple said Image Playground is free to use with daily limits, and iCloud Plus raises those limits. For creators and marketing teams, Apple positioned the tool as a quick way to make moodboards or visual drafts before full production.
Smarter Messages, Mail, calls, and Calendar
Apple listed a set of enhancements to communication and scheduling. Messages will suggest reminders and notes based on conversation content, and can find photos by person, place, or keyword. Mail and Messages smart replies will learn your tone for different recipients, Apple said.
- Call Context, when calling airlines, restaurants, or other businesses, will display confirmations and booking details, Apple said, it will not analyze call content
- Calendar, create or change events with a single description, so scheduling or adjusting plans is faster
For users with busy schedules, Apple said these incremental changes should save time every day.
Shortcuts made accessible, just describe the goal
iOS 27 integrates Apple Intelligence into the Shortcuts creation flow, so you can describe the outcome you want and the system assembles the steps. Apple gave the example of telling your phone what to do when you get in the car, instead of building the sequence yourself.
System wide dictation and writing help
Apple introduced a system wide AI dictation feature built into the iOS 27 keyboard. Unlike past voice to text, Apple said the new dictation will remove filler words, fix punctuation and capitalization, and format text based on context.
Siri can draft content from scratch, change tone, shorten length, or add details on command. Apple said Siri will adapt replies in Mail and Messages to match how you usually talk to different contacts, for example more concise with a manager and more casual with friends.
Finer grained parental controls
Apple spent significant time on new parental controls. The company said child accounts work with a Setup Assistant to choose apps at setup, and accounts for children under 13 default to Ask to Browse and Ask to Buy. Parents can set limits by category such as entertainment, games, or social media, and require approval for new contacts.
Apple presented these tools as more practical and flexible than simply restricting device access, a point the company said should matter to families in dense urban areas such as Hong Kong.
iCloud Shared Albums supports full resolution cross platform sharing
Apple said iCloud Shared Albums will now support original resolution sharing across platforms, so groups that mix Android and iPhone can view full resolution photos instead of compressed versions.
Apple said the change lowers friction for mixed device families, but that real world experience for Android users will be verifiable only when the public release ships this fall.
iOS 27 device support and Siri AI hardware requirements
Apple said iOS 27 supports iPhone 11 and later models, calling it the widest reaching iOS release in the companys history. That means iPhone 12 and 13 users can upgrade this fall and receive the core interface changes.
Apple clarified that Siri AI requires iPhone 15 Pro or later, or any iPhone 16 or 17 model. Standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus do not support Siri AI, Apple warned users to check device compatibility before upgrading.
Siri AI also extends to Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Watch SE 3 when paired with an iPhone running Apple Intelligence. Apple Vision Pro and certain iPad models are supported, including iPad mini with the A17 Pro and iPad models with M1 or later chips.
iOS 27 feature support by device
| Device | iOS 27 core update | Liquid Glass UI | Siri AI | AI photo, dictation, Shortcuts | Top local AI model |
| iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14 (including SE 2 3) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| iPhone 15, 15 Plus | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPhone 16 family | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPhone 16 Pro family | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPhone 17, 17 Air | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone 17 Pro family | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iPad mini A17 Pro, M1 and later iPad | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Apple Watch Series 10, Ultra 2, SE 3 | No | No | Yes when paired | Partial | No |
Apple defined the top local AI model as the on device capability to run the most demanding generative tasks, which depends on iPhone 17 series chips. Developer beta is available now, public beta is expected in July, and Apple said the final release will ship this fall.
Apple also noted regional differences. Under the European Unions Digital Markets Act, Apple said Siri AI will not roll out with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 in the EU. Craig Federighi, Apples senior vice president of software engineering, said he was “deeply disappointed” and that the company cannot yet confirm a timetable for EU releases of iOS and iPadOS versions that include Siri AI. Apple said macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 will include Siri AI in the EU. Apple clarified Hong Kong purchased iPhones, excluding mainland China CH and A variants, will not be affected by the EU limitation.
Coverage of iOS 27 and Siri AI will continue as Apple rolls out betas to developers and public testers, and as the company prepares the fall public release, Apple said.
