Apple spent a lot of time talking about artificial intelligence at WWDC this year, including how Apple Intelligence is getting power from Google’s Gemini models. Apple has introduced Siri AI, a major overhaul of its voice assistant that can hold long conversations, answer questions about what’s on your screen and pull relevant information from your messages, emails and photos.
Siri AI is only one part of iOS 27. Apple also announced more advanced photo editing tools, expanded parental controls, updates to its Liquid Glass design and several performance improvements aimed at making the iPhone faster and more responsive.
Some of the most immediately useful changes, however, are very small. After installing the developer beta of iOS 27, I saw new features included within the applications that you already use every day: a quick way to remove Safari tabs, a different setting for the alarm volume, new tools for saving and editing photos, and a Custom EQ option for AirPods.
A developer beta for iOS 27 is available now, with a public beta expected in July and a full update arriving this fall. Developer betas can be disruptive and can affect battery life, app interactions and day-to-day functionality, so you should avoid installing them on your primary iPhone unless you’re comfortable dealing with unfinished software.
Here are some of the more obscure iOS 27 features that you should check out.
Stretch the edges of the image with Stretch
The Photos app is getting a new Extend tool that can expand an image beyond its original borders. You can use it to straighten a crooked horizon, change the look of a photo’s proportions or give your subject more breathing room in the frame.
A new image tool called Extend can expand an image past its edges.
Extend uses generative AI to create additional parts of an image, similar to the generative-enlargement tools already available in other photo-editing apps. Apple also added a Spatial Reframing feature, which lets you touch and drag to adjust the perspective of an image.
Create a Shortcut by specifying what you want
The Shortcuts app can be powerful, but building an automation from scratch requires some patience. In iOS 27, you can simply specify what you want the shortcut to do, and the app will compile the necessary steps for you.
You can ask it to create a shortcut that texts someone when your phone is about to die or go into Focus mode when you arrive at work. You may have to make a few changes, but you don’t have to start over.
Shortcuts can now create defaults from a simple definition.
AirDrop files up to 80% faster
AirDrop also gets a speed boost. Apple says some AirDrop transfers can be up to 80% faster in iOS 27, making it faster to send photos and files to someone nearby.
There is a fine print, however. Apple tested the development by transferring multiple photos of up to 30MB between nearby contacts while the phones weren’t connected to a Wi-Fi network. Your results will depend on what you’re sending and the circumstances around you, but any improvement should be noticeable if you regularly use AirDrop to share large collections of photos.
Open the camera app quickly in low power mode
Low Power Mode can help extend your battery life when your iPhone is running low, but it can also make parts of the phone feel slower. In iOS 27, Apple says the Camera app starts immediately when Low Power Mode is on.
That’s a small improvement, but it’s important if you’re trying to capture something quickly before time runs out and your phone dies.
Move between Wi-Fi and mobile more smoothly
I always have problems with that limbo moment when I leave my house and I’m too far away to have good Wi-Fi service, but not far enough away for my phone to automatically disconnect. It always ends up interrupting whatever I’m doing on my phone, like downloading, streaming or a FaceTime call, and I end up turning off Wi-Fi.
In iOS 27, Apple says the phone can easily switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data on the go, without having to open Control Center and manually turn off Wi-Fi.
Continue texting while the video is being uploaded
Sending large video messages can be annoying if you have a weak connection. Until the file finishes uploading, the conversation is suspended, because the text messages are sent in sequence.
The new continuous sending feature allows you to continue sending texts while a large photo or video is being delivered. Messages also adds a sending indicator to each outgoing message, making it easy to see what has passed and what is in progress.
Show both sides of a FaceTime call
Dual Capture in FaceTime lets you stream video from your front and back cameras simultaneously during a one-on-one call. That means the other person can see your face while you show them what’s happening in front of you.
It can be useful when giving someone a tour, showing them a view or asking for help with something in front of you without constantly flipping the camera back and forth. There is one limitation: Apple says Dual Capture is only available on the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 lineup.
Save any frame in the video as an image
The Photos app now lets you save a single frame from a video as a photo with a tap. That means you no longer need to stop the clip at the right moment, take a screenshot and then switch the video controls afterwards.
There is already a feature to shake while shooting video, which I use when recording a live concert, but it’s nice to have the latest feature, especially if there’s a good shot buried somewhere in between.
Review several selected images at once
Selected View gives you a quick way to review and edit a group of images after you’ve selected them in your library. You can also manage embedded metadata, such as location information.
This should make it easier to clean up a batch of images before sharing them, rather than opening each one individually and making the same changes over and over again.
Rate your photos and videos with stars
If your photo library is overflowing with thousands of photos, iOS 27 gives you another way to organize the ones you really care about. Now you can give photos and videos a rating from one to five stars.
Once you’ve rated your photos, you can sort your library and collections by rating. That can make it easy to narrow down a set of Instagram photos or keep track of photos you still need to edit.
Sync new photos to iCloud quickly
Photos also includes an option to prioritize syncing new photos and videos to iCloud for one day, even if it comes at the cost of battery life or system performance.
Often, your iPhone may slow down to sync something to save power or handle other tasks. The new setting is useful when backing up your photos is more important than saving battery life, such as after taking a photo or event where you captured something you don’t want to lose.
Customize the EQ on your AirPods
AirPods get a Custom EQ setting that lets you adjust the lows, mids and highs. That gives you more control over how your music sounds without relying on a wide EQ setting.
You can boost the bass, roll back the treble or make small adjustments based on your preference. It’s no replacement for a full professional equalizer, obviously, but it should be more than enough for people who want their AirPods to sound personalized.
Set your alarm volume separately from everything else
This feature should have been available on the iPhone for a long time: You can set the volume of your alarm independently from the rest of your system volume.
That means you can keep videos, music and other sounds on mute without worrying that your alarm will be too loud to wake you up. I’ve had times where I’ve missed an alarm because the volume was at zero, but hopefully that won’t happen again.
Give the widget the entire home screen page
Widgets can now take up the entire Home Screen page if you want them to. Apple calls them super-sized widgets, supported by apps including Calendar, Photos and Music.
A full-page Calendar widget can make it easy to see your schedule at a glance, while a Photos widget can turn a single page of your Home Screen into something like a digital photo frame. I don’t think I want a widget to take up my entire screen (isn’t that what apps are for?), but it might make sense for apps you check regularly but want to check quickly.
See all your Safari tabs with one tap
Safari has a small change that makes it much easier to see all the tabs you have open. Instead of double-tapping the tab button, now you only have to tap once to view all your tabs. It’s a small interface tweak, but it removes some of the friction from jumping between web pages, especially if you keep hundreds of tabs open at once, like I do.
For more from WWDC, check out some of the big announcements and how to download the iOS 27 developer beta.