Apple has begun rolling out its latest generation of software updates, introducing new Apple Intelligence capabilities, stronger parental controls and major performance improvements across iPhone, iPad, Mac and the company’s wider device ecosystem.
The updates are arriving across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27 and tvOS 27, with Apple promising a faster, smarter and more personalised experience across its platforms.
Apple Intelligence Gets Smarter Across Everyday Apps
A major focus of the new software generation is Apple Intelligence, which is expanding deeper into apps people use every day.
Photos gains Spatial Reframing, Extend and an upgraded Clean Up tool, giving users more ways to edit their images while preserving the original moment. Image Playground can now create high-quality images in a wide range of styles, including photorealistic imagery.
Apple is also introducing metadata for AI-generated or edited images, with support for the SynthID standard expected in a later software update.
Safari is becoming more intelligent too, with AI-powered tools capable of automatically organising tabs into topics, notifying users about changes to websites such as product restocks and price drops, and creating custom extensions from a user’s description.
Another feature, Call Context, can surface useful information such as confirmation codes or reservation numbers when users call businesses.
Apple Expands Child Safety and Parental Controls
Parents are getting a significantly expanded collection of tools for managing their children’s digital experiences.
A redesigned child-account setup makes it easier to activate age-based protections and choose exactly which apps children can initially access. Parents can then gradually add more apps as needed.
The new Ask to Browse feature allows parents to require approval before a child visits a new website in Safari, while Communication Safety has been expanded to detect and intervene when gore or violent material appears in shared images or videos.
Screen Time has also been redesigned to provide parents with an at-a-glance view of average device usage and children’s most-used apps.
Parents can establish daily total time allowances across categories including Entertainment, Games and Social Media, while Schedules can determine which apps children can access at different times of the day.
iPhones and iPads Get Major Speed Boost
Apple says the new software also delivers substantial performance improvements, including on older devices.
According to the company’s testing, apps on iPhone and iPad can launch up to 30% faster, photos can load up to 70% faster after being captured and AirDrop transfers can be up to 80% faster.
On iPad, browsing files and transferring them to an external USB drive can be up to five times faster, alongside improvements to closing, switching and dragging windows while multitasking.
Mac users can expect quicker AirDrop transfers, faster initiation of iCloud Photos uploads and smoother transitions between Spaces and Mission Control, while music playback has also been improved on Apple Watch.
Connectivity and Search Receive Upgrades
Apple is improving how iPhones and iPads transition between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, while Messages will handle large photos and videos more efficiently in low-bandwidth environments.
Instead of a large media upload preventing subsequent messages from being delivered, users will be able to continue sending texts while the media is still being transferred.
Search across Spotlight, Photos and Mail has also been improved to become more stable, efficient and comprehensive, while Mail introduces a new ranking system designed to surface more relevant Top Hits.
Liquid Glass Becomes More Customisable
Apple is also refining its Liquid Glass design language.
A new slider in Settings allows users to adjust the appearance of Liquid Glass from ultraclear to fully tinted, giving people greater control over how the interface looks on their devices.
App icons have also been updated to appear sharper and more defined.
AirPods, Maps, Apple Watch and Apple TV Get New Features
The software update stretches beyond Apple’s biggest platforms.
iCloud Shared Albums now support full-resolution photo and video sharing while making it easier for Android and Windows users to participate. AirPods users gain custom EQ controls, while expanded Apple GymKit functionality allows AirPods Pro 3 users to sync heart-rate data through an iPhone.
Apple Maps introduces an enhanced AI-powered Flyover experience, while Apple Watch gains smarter widget suggestions and a new single-handed tap gesture for opening widgets.
Apple Vision Pro users can transform panoramic photos into spatial scenes or use a new Thórsmörk Environment featuring a dynamic Icelandic aurora.
Apple TV, meanwhile, gains high-resolution lossless audio support for Apple Music, a redesigned Apple Podcasts app and expanded text-size accessibility options.
Siri AI Begins Rolling Out in Beta
The new Apple Intelligence capabilities are available on supported products and languages, while Siri AI is beginning its rollout as a beta in English.
French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish support is expected to follow in October.
However, availability differs by region. Apple says Siri AI will initially not be available on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch in the European Union, while Siri AI and other new Apple Intelligence features will not initially be available in China as the company works through regulatory requirements.
Apple Intelligence Limited to Supported Hardware
Apple Intelligence and Siri AI require compatible hardware, including the iPhone Duo, iPhone Air, iPhone 16 series or later, iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, as well as supported iPads, Macs, Apple Watches and Apple Vision Pro.
Apple has also confirmed that certain AI capabilities relying on server-side models will be subject to daily usage limits. These include Siri AI, intelligent photo-editing tools, Image Playground and cloud-based models used through Shortcuts.
The company says expanded access to some of these capabilities will be available for a fee in the future.
