Apple has officially unveiled the new features coming to compatible iPhones running iOS 27 later this year, introducing major Apple Intelligence upgrades, changes to Siri, parental controls enhancements and improvements across core iPhone apps.
iOS 27 is currently available as a beta test version for developers and public testers. The software has been going through several months of testing before its full public release – which is likely to happen in the next few weeks. Apple typically launches new versions of iOS in September, often around the second week – making Monday, September 14 a likely release date based on past patterns.
iOS 27 will be supported on every iPhone all the way back to iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2, though some Apple Intelligence and Siri related features will only be available on newer iPhones.
This hub contains everything Apple has confirmed will be coming in iOS 27 when it launches, including new features, compatible iPhones, beta release information, Apple Intelligence updates and what’s new for Siri.
iOS 27 has been in beta since it was unveiled at WWDC in June, but the official version of iOS 27 will not be available to install on compatible iPhones until later in 2026.
Apple has confirmed that the iPhone launch event will take place on September 9, so we anticipate that iOS 27 will be available to download on Monday, September 14, as the iOS download usually closely follows Apple’s September event.
As of September 1, iOS 27 beta 8 is now available to developers, with the public beta expected shortly.
At this late stage in the development cycle, Apple is focusing on stability rather than adding new features, with recent betas mainly delivering bug fixes, security updates, performance improvements and final polish ahead of launch.
By far the biggest upgrade coming in iOS 27 is Siri AI – Apple’s new Apple Intelligence-powered version of Siri. Apple says it is more personal, conversational and capable than the current assistant, with support for natural follow-up questions, personal context, onscreen awareness and up-to-date information from the web.
For more Siri AI message replies read about what happened when we made Siri AI Answer all our Messages.
Siri AI represents a significant improvement over the old Siri, particularly when handling conversational questions, current information and personal context.
Early testing suggests it can deal with far more complicated requests than Siri previously could. Apple Music is a good example: Siri can identify very specific groups of songs, create playlists and combine music knowledge with reasoning.
It could therefore become one of the biggest reasons to upgrade to iOS 27, potentially changing Siri from a basic voice-command system into a more general way of interacting with the iPhone.
However, Siri AI is still in beta. Testing has revealed server failures, incorrect answers, weak reasoning and unexplained limitations, so its usefulness will depend heavily on how much Apple improves reliability before release.
Apple’s approach to AI safety also appears more restrained than some rival chatbots, with Siri designed to avoid excessive flattery, pretending to be human or responding inappropriately to potentially harmful requests.
