Apple Releases iOS 27 With Performance Gains, Liquid Glass Controls and Expanded AI Features

In Settings, Appearance, Liquid Glass, Apple added a system-wide transparency slider that lets users decide how strong the Liquid Glass effect appears. A new maximum transparency level makes background content easier to see through buttons, bubbles and navigation components. Apple redesigned app icons and controls for more depth, including Safari, Siri, Settings, Apple Store, Remote and Preview. Safari uses a brighter blue and finer compass pattern, while Siri's icon is closer to the glowing orb shown when Siri is invoked. On iOS and iPadOS 27, the outline lighting effect on app icons, the Dock and widgets was removed and now appears only on the lock screen clock. Progressive blur at the top and bottom of the interface was also removed, returning to a frosted-glass look. Because pulling down from the top now activates Siri AI, the notification animation was adjusted to appear from the top-left corner. The lock screen Now Playing widget can be hidden with a left swipe but reopens when the track changes or playback restarts, and the AirPlay menu gained a gradient blur background.

Performance and search are major areas of iOS 27. According to Apple, app launches are up to 30 percent faster, photo review after capture is 70 percent faster, AirDrop transfers are 80 percent faster and external storage file transfers are up to five times faster. Apple also optimized the CPU scheduler to improve multitasking on older models. The company rebuilt the search backend and unified Spotlight, Mail and Photos into one search engine for more stable and efficient search. After updating, System Settings reminds users that indexing is being rebuilt, and search becomes smoother once it is complete. In the search preload interface, users can choose to show eight suggested apps, four or none, and can choose whether to show app shortcuts.

The Camera app now shows a more visible yellow outline on the Macro button and the hidden camera menu when Night mode, Macro or exposure adjustment is enabled. For video, after enabling Apple ProRes in Camera settings, users can choose Log or Log 2 encoding. The new Log 2 format retains more image information for color grading, and Apple Log 2 is available only on iPhone 17 Pro models. Opening the six-dot control menu and tapping Edit in the top-left corner allows users to customize the layout of frequently used shooting controls.

The TV app added automatic downloading of subsequent episodes. In TV settings, users can enable Auto Download; the app then automatically downloads the next two episodes of a series being watched and deletes downloaded content after viewing. AirPods received a new management page with a secondary interface and icons for each setting, and now support custom EQ. Apple added a more intuitive slider to AirPods Adaptive mode, allowing users to adjust the balance between Transparency and Noise Cancellation by pressing and sliding to any point on the scale. The same adjustment is available in the Control Center AirPods interface.

Shortcuts gained support for Else logic, which the report says is suited to more complex scenarios without repeatedly nesting If actions. The Get Screen module can filter by media category, visibility and whether content is only from the current app. A Persistent Data feature allows shortcuts to write and read iCloud data fields across platforms, letting one shortcut work on multiple devices. Automation added three new triggers: screenshot, connect to keyboard and notification.

Several other apps and settings changed. Ringtones, alarms and reminders now have independent volume settings, and AirPods can have a separate alert volume. The built-in input method supports spelling input and enhanced dictionary and voice input, and it can prompt clipboard updates in the candidate bar. Notes can copy rich text as Markdown or paste Markdown as rich text. Wallet added custom pass creation, which Apple is opening to more countries and regions. Health added perimenopause tracking, Photos added Identity Documents and Captured by Me categories, and Maps upgraded Flyover visuals. A recovery mode can restore iOS without another device. Accounts under 13 have Ask to Browse and Ask to Buy enabled by default. Wi-Fi Assistant was renamed Connectivity Assistant and can be turned on or off for a specific Wi-Fi network. China iPhones added holiday alarms that adjust dates based on weekends and statutory holidays, and larger widgets were introduced. The PlayStation Access controller now supports macOS, iPadOS and iOS with custom input configurations. RCS chat allows quote replies to any RCS message, and image or emoji reactions display normally on Android. iCloud Shared Albums support full-resolution sharing, with Android and Windows users able to participate through iCloud.com. Screen Time added finer child controls by category and schedule, and Communication Safety detection expanded to bloody and violent content in shared photos and videos. GymKit expanded to iPhone, and VoiceOver, Magnifier and Voice Control received accessibility updates.

iOS 27 also upgrades Apple Intelligence and Siri, though availability depends on device, language and region. A higher-accuracy AI translation feature is integrated into the system keyboard, using an on-device model, supporting mixed languages and offline recognition without switching keyboards. The keyboard also uses AI to improve autocorrect for spelling, punctuation and capitalization. Calendar and Reminders support natural-language input, with AI creating events or to-dos. Visual Intelligence supports automatic bill splitting, sending bills to friends with Apple Cash and recognizing food nutrition information. Apple previewed a Password app feature to update weak or leaked passwords, but it will require a later software update. Messages supports AI-generated reply suggestions. Shortcuts can create new shortcuts through AI by describing a need or goal, and Call Context finds relevant information from apps when calling some businesses, such as a flight confirmation code.

In Photos, AI improves the Erase feature introduced in iOS 26 and adds Extend and Reframe. Reframe uses Apple's spatial imaging technology to simulate camera perspective and recompose an image, then generates the reframed image with AI, rather than using separate vertical, horizontal and rotation adjustments like third-party apps. Extend lets users adjust image size and aspect ratio, with AI filling in the extra areas; the report describes the results as impressive, with rich detail and natural transitions. Erase was strengthened for complex scenes, and the report says it now offers fast and high-quality options.

Editor's Summary

Apple released iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate and watchOS 27 on Sept. 15. iOS 27 brings performance gains, a more adjustable Liquid Glass interface, rebuilt search, new camera, AirPods, TV and Shortcuts features, and expanded Apple Intelligence and Photos editing tools. Availability of some AI features depends on device, language and region.