iOS 27 releasing soon: Compatible iPhones, massive Siri overhaul, and deep AI camera integration

Apple has already announced the dates for its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote and the company's next version of iOS is all set to be introduced at the blockbuster event. In its signature style, Apple has continued to stay mum on the new features and even the name for the new update, but leaks have given us a very good idea of what to expect from the latest version of iOS.

iOS 27 unveiling and release date:

iOS 27 is expected to be revealed at the WWDC keynote in September, with CEO Tim Cook and upcoming chief executive John Ternus both likely to share the spotlight during the event.

If the timelines for previous iOS releases hold, we should see the first developer beta for iOS 27 soon after the presentation. Meanwhile, a public beta could be released by the company in July, giving beta testers with eligible devices a peek at all the new features.

Meanwhile, the public stable rollout for the update should be shortly after the latest iPhone launches in September.

iOS 27 expected features:

1) Snow Leopard-style update:

As per Mark Gurman, Apple is planning a Snow Leopard-style update for iOS 27, taking inspiration from MacOS X Snow Leopard that was released in 2009 and focused on making subtle improvements and quality control rather than flashy announcements.

Similarly, Apple is said to be working on reducing bugs and improving the performance of its software on iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks with this new update.

With iOS 27, this could also mean Apple optimising its software for the upcoming iPhone Ultra/Fold, which is expected to feature a 7.8-inch display upon unfolding and could offer an iPad-like experience.

2) The big Siri makeover:

Apple has already confirmed its partnership with Google to power the latest version of Siri, but we could finally see a glimpse of what that might offer in iOS 27.

Here are the biggest Siri updates that Apple may be planning with iOS 27:

• Standalone Siri app: Gurman has noted that Apple is working on a standalone Siri app, which could make the voice assistant similar to a chatbot like ChatGPT or Gemini. The app could allow users to turn voice mode on or off, along with other chatbot-like features such as uploading photos and documents, remembering past conversations, and the ability to search for past chats.
• Siri in Dynamic Island: Siri is also expected to receive a design update, which is said to be currently being tested at Apple. The new interface was also seemingly hinted at in the glowing visual effects of the WWDC teaser. Meanwhile, the voice assistant may also find a place inside Dynamic Island and, once Siri is triggered, Dynamic Island is said to grow with a “Search or Ask” prompt along with a glowing cursor.
• Personal context: Siri in iOS 27 is said to possess the ability to control features inside iPhones and Macs. The voice assistant will reportedly be able to tap into users' personal data like messages, notes, and emails to answer user queries. Siri will also be able to finish tasks within apps, like accessing news or searching the web on behalf of users.
• Extensions: Gone are the days when ChatGPT was the only chatbot that could be integrated with Siri. Apple could now provide that ability to all major chatbots with a new ‘Extensions’ feature that could allow users to connect their preferred AI chatbot like Claude or Gemini by installing their extensions via the dedicated App Store section.

3) Visual Intelligence upgrades:

Apple is said to be planning to integrate its AI features more closely inside the iPhone's camera app, which could end up adding many Visual Intelligence features.

Here are the new features that could be coming to iOS 27:

• Siri inside iPhone Camera: Apple is said to be planning to have a dedicated Siri mode inside the iPhone camera app, which could appear alongside the Photo, Video, and Portrait options.

The new Siri mode is expected to allow users to point the camera at an object and use external AI apps like ChatGPT to ask questions about the surroundings. Moreover, Apple is also said to pack in the ability to run a Google reverse image search right from the camera app.

• Nutrition tracking: A new option inside the camera app could also allow users to scan nutrition labels on food packages to automatically log dietary information in the Health app. The new feature would also allow users to scan business cards to add names and numbers directly inside the Contacts app.

4) Photo editing features:

The Photos app in iOS 27 is expected to get an AI-powered makeover, which could finally allow the iPhone to make complicated edits to images just like Android smartphone makers.

Apple is said to be working on adding a dedicated "Apple Intelligence Tools" section inside the editing interface of the Photos app. This new UI element could come with three new features: Extend, Enhance, and Reframe.

• Extend: This feature could allow users to generate content beyond the original frame of the image. For example, users could expand the edges of their image to fill in missing surroundings, with control over how much content is added.
• Enhance: This feature could take advantage of AI to fix certain elements automatically in images like colour, lighting, and overall image quality.
• Reframe: This tool is said to be designed specifically for spatial photos and could give users the ability to adjust perspective even after the image has been captured. Users could, for instance, after taking an image of a car, adjust the point of view from front-facing to a side-facing profile.

Compatible iPhones:

Rumours suggest that Apple could end support for the iPhone 11 lineup along with iPhone SE (2nd generation). This means all iPhones released since the iPhone 12 lineup should be eligible for the new update. However, only iPhones released after the iPhone 15 Pro models would be eligible for Apple Intelligence features.

• iPhone SE (3rd generation)
• iPhone 12 series (mini, standard, Pro, Pro Max)
• iPhone 13 series (mini, standard, Pro, Pro Max)
• iPhone 14 series (standard, Plus, Pro, Pro Max)
• iPhone 15 series (standard, Plus, Pro, Pro Max)
• iPhone 16 series (16e, standard, Plus, Pro, Pro Max)
• iPhone 17 series (17e, standard, Pro, Pro Max, iPhone Air)