Apple Unveils iOS 27 at WWDC 2026: Revamped Siri AI App, Faster Performance and Liquid Glass Upgrades

Apple unveiled iOS 27 on Monday at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2026) at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. The company's next major update for eligible iPhone models will arrive with a more optimised user interface with improvements to its Liquid Glass design language introduced last year. It also includes a revamped Siri AI assistant, which is now available as a dedicated app that offers access to previous conversations. Apple says that apps on iPhone and iPad will launch up to 30 percent faster, and loading photos has been sped up by up to 70 percent. iOS 27 is expected to arrive in Q3 2026 on supported iPhone models.

iOS 27 Availability, Key Features

The company says that its iOS 27 update will arrive later this year with notable improvements to Apple's Liquid Glass design, including a slider to control opacity, and a range of new performance improvements. Apple claims that photos and apps load up to 70 percent and 30 percent quicker than on iOS 26, respectively. Meanwhile, AirDrop transfers will be completed up to 80 percent faster. Users should also see improvements to switching between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. The company also says that an optimised CPU scheduler will offer improved performance on devices that receive the software update.

The new dedicated app for Siri AI on iOS 27
Photo Credit: Apple

The next version of the company's iPhone operating system is equipped with various new AI features. The most notable change is to the Siri AI assistant, which is now equipped with a combination of Apple's own Foundation Models and Google's Gemini AI models. Users can also launch Siri as a standalone app, and it can also display their older chats.

Apple Intelligence features will also be baked into several apps including Safari, Wallet, Photos, and the Shortcuts app on iOS 27. Users can provide natural language commands to perform various tasks, and will receive contextual suggestions across the operating system. Users can also use a new Spatial Reframing feature, "extend" the edges of an existing image, and use prompts to edit images using the Photos app on iOS 27.

The built-in camera app on iOS 27 will allow users to access a Siri mode that performs a visual search, according to the company. On devices with Camera Control, users could already long press the dedicated button to access Visual Intelligence, but this change could benefit users with an iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Users will also be able to customise how Siri sounds, adjusting the assistant's pitch, speed, tone, and accent.

Safari automatically groups tabs into topics on iOS 27
Photo Credit: Apple

On iOS 27, the Phone app will surface important information from the Mail app, while calling a business, using Call Context. Both Messages and Mail will display suggestions under some messages, allowing users to quickly perform tasks like adding a reminder or making a new note. The Safari app on iOS 27 will group tabs based on topics, and can even notify users when a website is updated with new information, such as prices or availability of new stock.

Apple also highlighted new parental control features including Time Allowances and Schedules, a new Ask to Browser feature for new websites. These features will be supported across the company's devices, including iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27.

During the WWDC keynote event, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be available for the iPhone 11 series and newer models later this year, while developers should get access to the upcoming mobile operating system soon. Users with an iPhone 15 Pro and later models will have access to the new Apple Intelligence features showcased by the company at WWDC in the coming months, and some features will initially be available in English. Apple says that users in China and the EU will have to wait longer for these features.