In a new report (subscription required), renders based on insider information reveal what iOS 27 will look like and how the new Siri will function. There’s a lot to love here, if it works properly and if Apple makes the deadline this time around.
Siri uses Dynamic Island
The new Siri will use the Dynamic Island to remain at your fingertips at all times. | Image by Bloomberg
For starters, Siri will be able to be accessed by swiping down the center of the screen from the top. You can still swipe down from the far top left to access the Notification Center.
Once triggered, a “Search or Ask” page will open where users can type queries or use voice commands. Frequently used apps, recent web searches, and other elements that show up in iOS 26 will also still be present.
If Siri is accessed by voice command — as has been popular for years — or by holding down the power button, the assistant will activate inside the Dynamic Island. The idea is to have an always-present and truly smart digital assistant at your fingertips at all times.
A new dedicated app
Siri can now steal the spotlight from ChatGPT, at least for iPhone users. | Images by Bloomberg
As reported before, Apple is working on a new dedicated app for Siri as well. This app will directly compete with other similar offerings on the market, especially the extremely popular ChatGPT app from OpenAI.
Users will be able to customize how the Siri app launches every time it is opened. The app can start up with a new chat ready to go or with a list of previous conversations that you’ve had with Siri if you wish to continue talking about a past topic. If you’ve used the ChatGPT app, you will feel right at home.Said previous conversations will also be configurable, with options to set them to self-delete in a month, a year, or never, just like the Messages app. Past chats can be shown as either a grid or as a list. Each chat will have the option for a voice mode as well as support for uploaded files, images, and documents.Whenever you ask Siri about something, the agent will also be able to present text cards filled with information. Similar cards will also be used for weather forecasts, text messages, emails, and much more.
Siri in the Camera app
More AI image editing tools are coming to the iPhone. | Images by Bloomberg
Some of Siri’s most promising features will be making their way to the Camera app for the iPhone, though not all additions are powered by AI. A new ‘Add Widgets’ panel will let users prioritize more professional tools and controls for their photography, for example.
‘Reframe’ and ‘Extend’ are two new AI-powered tools for the Camera app. ‘Extend’ is pretty simple, allowing you to generate more portions of an existing image. For example, telling it to extend an image where a person wasn’t fully in the frame so that they now are.
‘Reframe’ is much more interesting, in my opinion. It can completely change the perspective of a photo, though that does mean that the new image is more AI than a real picture captured by a user.
Apple’s image editing AI features lag behind rival offerings by a lot. The eraser tool basically leaves a smudge where Samsung and Google phones output an image indistinguishable from reality.
Users are unimpressed by Apple’s current suite of AI tools. | Image by Reddit
Apple is also apparently testing a feature to let users ask Siri to edit an image using verbal or typed instructions. This feature might not be available at launch, however.
Other goodies for the iPhone
From photo editing to systemwide grammar checks, Siri is taking on a lot of responsibility in iOS 27. | Image by Bloomberg
There are a number of other improvements and updates making their way to Siri with iOS 27 as well. Some of them include the following:
- Revamped Shortcuts app to let Siri create automations
- AI-generated wallpapers
- A systemwide grammar checker
- Better Image Playground outputs
- Improved Genmoji results
All of these features have been a very long time coming. It has been a challenging couple of years for Apple, as the company kept failing to deliver what it had promised so long ago. Apple is lucky that most consumers still don’t really care for AI on their smartphones.
I’m still reserving judgment for now, Apple has stumbled too many times in the last two or three years. But I must say, I have a feeling that the company might finally have nailed what its rivals perfected years ago.
