iOS 27 AI Features: Every Apple Intelligence Upgrade

iOS 27 looks like the most significant Apple Intelligence upgrade since the feature launched in iOS 18. Where iOS 26 introduced Writing Tools and a basic ChatGPT handoff, the pre-WWDC picture for iOS 27 describes a platform-level rethink: a Siri that holds conversations, a camera that reads the physical world, and an AI layer you can swap between providers.

Before you read: This article was published before Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8. Features marked as expected are based on reporting from Bloomberg, MacRumors, and 9to5Mac and haven’t been officially confirmed by Apple. We’ll update this article the same day Apple announces.

#Apple’s Confirmed iOS 27 AI Features

Before the WWDC keynote, Apple reveals very little. In May 2026, Apple’s Newsroom announced upcoming accessibility features for iOS 27, these are the only AI-related changes Apple has confirmed before June 8:

VoiceOver Image Explorer generates detailed spoken descriptions of any image system-wide, from library photos to scanned bills, powered by on-device AI.

Natural-Language Voice Control lets users control their iPhone with conversational commands rather than strict syntax.

Eye Tracking refinements improve AI-powered gaze detection for users who control their iPhone with their eyes.

Everything else in this article is based on pre-WWDC reporting from Bloomberg and MacRumors. Both outlets have a strong track record on Apple product plans, but none of these features have been officially confirmed by Apple and all are subject to change before or at the WWDC keynote on June 8.

#How Does Siri Change in iOS 27?

This is the change everything else builds around.

In our testing of Siri across iOS 16 through iOS 26, the assistant has always handled discrete commands well and open-ended questions poorly. Set a timer, send a message, play a song: reliable. Follow-up questions, complex explanations, or anything requiring memory of what you said two minutes ago: unreliable. iOS 27 is expected to address that gap at the foundation level.

MacRumors reported in May 2026 that Apple has been developing a redesigned Siri that functions as a conversational chatbot. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has consistently reported on the changes, the new Siri will live primarily in the Dynamic Island, support a standalone app with searchable conversation history, and handle multi-step commands in a single request.

The conversation thread keeps context across a session, a fundamental change from today’s stateless Siri that forgets everything the moment you close it.

For a complete breakdown of the redesign, see our iOS 27 Siri redesign guide.

#The iOS 27 AI Extensions Framework

Apple currently has a single third-party AI arrangement: a ChatGPT handoff in iOS 18, carried through iOS 26. In iOS 27, that expands.

According to Bloomberg’s March 2026 report, Apple plans to open Siri to multiple providers through an Extensions framework. The expected initial providers are Google Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, joining the existing ChatGPT connection. Users will find the setting in Settings under Apple Intelligence and Siri, with the choice applying to both Siri queries and Writing Tools.

Apple’s own on-device models aren’t replaced. Notification summaries, basic Writing Tools, and Visual Intelligence continue running locally. The Extensions layer sits on top for queries that need more capability or a specific model’s strengths.

For step-by-step guidance on the Extensions setup, see our iOS 27 third-party AI guide.

#Visual Intelligence Gets a Camera Mode

Visual Intelligence launched on iPhone 16 as a Camera Control shortcut. In iOS 27, it moves into the Camera app itself.

9to5Mac reported in May 2026 that the Camera app will gain a dedicated Siri mode, sitting in the mode selector alongside Photo, Video, Portrait, and Panorama. When active, the camera feeds a continuous AI analysis stream, and Siri can answer questions about whatever it sees in real time.

New capabilities expected in iOS 27 include nutrition label scanning that logs to the Health app, business card scanning that writes directly to Contacts, physical ticket scanning for Wallet, and object web search. Bloomberg’s April 2026 report confirms that these specific use cases came from Apple’s internal testing.

In our testing of Visual Intelligence in iOS 26, the feature reliably identifies landmarks, plants, and products, but it’s buried behind a Camera Control gesture most users don’t discover on their own. There’s no label on the button, no first-launch prompt, and the long-press activation isn’t something users stumble into by accident. A named Camera mode solves all of that: it appears in the same mode selector where iPhone users already look every time they open the camera app.

For the full feature breakdown, see our iOS 27 Visual Intelligence guide.

#New AI Tools in the Photos App

The Photos app is expected to add two generative AI editing tools in iOS 27, per MacRumors’ May 2026 report:

Reframe uses AI to reconstruct a photo from a slightly different perspective, changing composition after the shot was taken, not just cropping or rotating.

Extend generates content beyond the edges of the photo. Point it at a shot that cut off part of a scene and it fills in the surrounding area with generated content matching the original.

Both join the existing Clean Up feature. Where Clean Up removes objects, Reframe and Extend change or expand the photo’s actual boundaries.

#Writing Tools and Shortcuts Upgrades

Writing Tools gains a grammar checker, an always-on proofreading layer that catches errors across any text field in any app.

Write With Siri is a new keyboard shortcut for generating text from scratch. Instead of editing existing text, you describe what you want and Siri drafts it. For automation, iOS 27’s Shortcuts app gains an AI-native creation flow: describe an automation in plain language and iOS builds the multi-step Shortcut automatically.

#Which iPhones Support iOS 27 AI Features?

iOS 27 is expected to support iPhone 12 and newer, see our iOS 27 compatible iPhones guide for the full predicted list. Apple Intelligence features carry stricter requirements. In iOS 26, Writing Tools reached broadly while advanced Siri required iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 hardware.

Apple hasn’t confirmed the iOS 27 Apple Intelligence tier list yet. As a reference, iOS 26 split AI features across 2 tiers: Writing Tools on iPhone 12 and later, advanced Siri on iPhone 15 Pro or newer. iOS 27 is expected to follow a similar tiered split, with more demanding AI capabilities reserved for newer hardware models. For the beta compatibility picture, see our iOS 27 beta supported iPhones guide and the iOS 26 Apple Intelligence requirements guide.

Apple will announce the complete hardware eligibility at WWDC on June 8.

#Bottom Line

iOS 27 addresses Apple’s most visible AI gap. Siri has been outcompeted by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude for years, and the response isn’t incremental: the chat interface, the Extensions framework, and the Visual Intelligence Camera mode together represent a coherent answer to what those services do well.

What isn’t settled is whether Apple ships all of this at launch or staggers rollout across betas the way iOS 18 staggered Apple Intelligence. WWDC on June 8 will answer that. For the full iOS 27 picture beyond AI, see our iOS 27 new features guide.

#Frequently Asked Questions