New features coming to apps in iOS 27
iOS 27 delivers a mix of major Apple Intelligence updates and small quality-of-life improvements to Safari, Photos, Messages, AirPods, Passwords, Wallet, and other core iPhone apps. Apple is also making iOS more adaptable to different screen sizes and orientations, which are necessary changes for the iPhone Duo.
Safari
Safari can automatically group open tabs into topics, making it easier to find related pages. A new Notify Me feature will monitor web pages and alert you to changes such as price drops or products coming back in stock.
There’s also a new Describe an Extension feature that allows users to create custom Safari extensions by simply explaining what they want the extension to do.
Apple
Photos
Photos gets significantly more powerful AI editing tools.
Reframing can alter the composition and perspective of an existing photo, while Extend generates new image content beyond the original frame by straightening a horizon or changing the aspect ratio.
Apple
Cleaning has also been improved, with Quick and High Quality modes to remove unwanted objects or details. High Quality mode can produce considerably more natural results, although more ambitious edits may still introduce distortions or fabricated details.
Photos also adds new categories and the ability to save a frame from a video as a full-resolution photo. The resulting HEIF or JPG retains the video’s original resolution, date, and location metadata instead of simply creating a screenshot.
Camera
iOS 27 introduces a new, more customizable camera interface that lets you pin the controls you use most often. For the iPhone 18 Pro, there are also “pro controls” like white balance, shutter speed and manual focus along with Apple’s Reference Image, an authentication system designed to prove that a photo or video was genuinely captured on an iPhone and has not been subsequently tampered with.
The new Siri mode in the Camera app is a more convenient and logical way to access Visual Intelligence features that used to require a long press on the camera button or a Control Center button.
Messages
Foundry
Messages gets several useful improvements.
You can decide what the microphone button next to the text field does. Low Settings > Applications > Messages > Show in text fieldcan be set to Record Audio, Start Dictation, or None. Disabling it does not remove any of the features: dictation remains available from the keyboard and audio messages remain in the + menu.
Voice message playback controls are easier to access, while Apple Intelligence can suggest actions based on a conversation, such as creating a reminder, taking a note, or searching for relevant photos.
Messages in iOS 27 will get smarter suggested replies that can better reflect the user’s writing style. (This was removed from the iOS 27 beta and was not available in the iOS 27 release.)
Drawing
Foundry
A new dedicated drawing app replaces the old hidden handwriting interface. Accessible from the + menu, it uses the familiar pens, colors and drawing controls found in Notes and Markups, and finished drawings are sent as images.
Mail gets more context-aware smart responses, including responses that can better match the user’s usual writing style.
Apple Intelligence can also display Mail information in other parts of iOS. For example, the Phone app could retrieve a flight confirmation number from an email when you call an airline.
Phone
A new call context feature can display information that may be useful during a call. Apple says the information is selected based on who you’re calling rather than listening to the conversation. For example, calling an airline could cause iOS to display the corresponding flight confirmation from Mail.
Birthday reminders can also appear when you call contacts whose birthdays are stored on iPhone.
Face to face
FaceTime gets Dual Capture, allowing you to use the front and rear cameras at the same time during a call.
Passwords
Passwords in iOS 27 will fix things for you.
Apple
The Passwords app continues to warn about weak, reused, and compromised credentials, but iOS 27 will go a step further by offering to fix some of them automatically.
With Apple Intelligence, Passwords you can visit supported websites, change a vulnerable password, and save replacement credentials. See: Apple got rid of my biggest password headache.
The usefulness of the feature will depend on how widely websites support it and how well it handles obstacles like two-factor authentication and unusual account management interfaces.
Apple removed this ability to detect compromised passwords and replaced them from the beta shortly before the release of iOS 27. It is expected to arrive with a later update.
Shortcuts
Shortcut Gains Describes a shortcut, which allows users to create automations simply by explaining what they want to happen.
Apple Intelligence interprets the request and gathers the appropriate actions in supported apps, potentially making Shortcuts much easier to use for people unfamiliar with manually automating buildings.
Calendar
Calendar can create or modify events based on natural language instructions.
Apple says the app can recognize contacts, locations, dates and other event details as users type, reducing the amount of information that must be entered manually.
Siri can also create entire Calendar entries for information that’s currently on the screen, or by taking a photo with Siri mode in the Camera app.
Playground image
Image Playground is considerably more powerful and realistic.
Apple says it can create photorealistic images and allows users to modify the generated images by simply describing the changes they want. Individual objects can also be selected, resized or repositioned.
AI-generated images will include a SynthID watermark that will identify them as synthetic content. This particular feature was not available at launch, but Apple has confirmed that it will arrive later.
Wallet
Wallet can create custom passes from QR codes.
Users can add their own fields and information to the pass, and passes automatically sync with Apple Watch.
Climate
Weather gets a clearer, more detailed forecast interface, with reorganized information tiles and new 10-day views showing the probability/amount of precipitation and wind speed throughout each day.
Starter application
Apple Intelligence comes to the Home app for compatible HomeKit Secure Video cameras. You can group notifications from related cameras, describe recorded videos, and highlight clips that seem particularly noteworthy.
Maps
Apple Maps improves Flyover using higher quality aerial imagery and Visual Intelligence models.
Apple says this produces sharper architectural details and a more realistic rendering of elements such as individual trees.
Podcasts
Video podcasts become easier to use, with improved controls to switch between watching a podcast and simply listening to it.
Physical fitness
Training summaries have been redesigned to make them easier to share.
Users can also hide completed Fitness+ workouts.
