Apple's iOS 27 features list runs to well over 200 items, and almost none of them are the AI assistant everyone's been talking about.
According to 9to5Mac's coverage of the WWDC 2026 keynote, Apple displayed a slide listing hundreds of small refinements across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS 27.
This is the unglamorous stuff that actually makes an OS feel faster day to day — and honestly, after a Liquid Glass redesign last year, "smoother scrolling" and "faster app launches" sound pretty good right now.
TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 were announced at WWDC 2026 alongside the new Siri AI app and an overhauled Apple Intelligence stack.
- Apple's official changelog lists well over 200 individual fixes, spanning faster app launches, an optimized CPU scheduler, and smoother Control Center animations.
- iPadOS 27 gets a more Mac-like multitasking layer, including faster window switching, an optional persistent menu bar, and app names in the status bar.
- Photos and Shared Albums get the biggest single-app overhaul, with cross-platform sharing for Android and Windows users for the first time.
- The public beta arrives in July 2026, with a general release expected around mid-September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro launch.
Key Facts
- iOS 27 supports the same device list as iOS 26, meaning iPhone 11 and the second-generation iPhone SE remain compatible.
- iPadOS 27 introduces an optional persistent menu bar and the ability to resize iPhone apps when run on iPad.
- macOS 27 adds edge-to-edge sidebars, colorful sidebar icons, and an updated menu bar icon set as part of a Liquid Glass refresh.
- Photos gains a "Captured by Me" collection, an Identity Documents collection, and full-resolution iCloud Shared Albums.
- iCloud Shared Albums can now be joined by Android and Windows users, ending one of Apple's longest-standing platform walls.
- watchOS 27 adds Apple Wallet guest keys, a redesigned Settings app, and a new tap gesture for quick actions.
- Health gets dedicated perimenopause and menopause tracking, plus matching Fitness+ workout programs.
What new features does iOS 27 add for iPhone?
iOS 27 focuses on speed and polish rather than a visual reset. Voice Control responds faster, Safari uses less battery, and the Lock Screen stays awake while you scroll through notifications.
Smaller but genuinely useful additions include extra-large widgets, a Live Activity for Precision Finding with Friends, and dual-camera support in FaceTime for showing both your front and back camera at once.
Accessibility also gets attention: Touch Accommodations setup is streamlined, and Made for iPhone hearing devices pair and hand off between devices more reliably.
How does iPadOS 27 change multitasking on iPad?
iPadOS 27 leans further into "the iPad is basically a Mac now" territory. Windows close and switch faster, Files handles browsing and transfers more quickly, and the menu bar opens with less lag.
The headline change is an optional persistent menu bar with app names shown in the status bar — a layout choice straight out of macOS. iPhone apps can also be resized when running on iPad, and Apple News+ now supports audio playback on iPadOS.
| Feature | iPadOS 26 | iPadOS 27 |
|---|---|---|
| Menu bar | Contextual only | Optional persistent menu bar |
| Status bar | Time/battery only | Includes app names |
| iPhone app windows | Fixed size | Resizable |
| Home Screen edits | No undo | Undo and redo support |
What's new in macOS 27 for the Mac?
macOS 27 brings a visual refresh built on Liquid Glass, with edge-to-edge sidebars, colorful sidebar icons, uniform toolbars, and consistent corner radii across system apps.
Under the hood, Apple says an optimized CPU scheduler should make older Macs feel noticeably more responsive — the same scheduler improvement that benefits older iPhones running iOS 27.
Spotlight gets more relevant suggestions and faster shortcut indexing, Notes gains a built-in drawing tool, and external display support extends to 5K Mac mirroring with higher-resolution, higher-refresh-rate modes.
What changes are coming to Photos and Shared Albums?
Photos is arguably the most overhauled single app in this release. New additions include a "Captured by Me" collection, an Identity Documents collection, star ratings, and the ability to save any slideshow as a video.
Shared Albums get participant permission controls, expiration dates, recent activity logs, reactions with any emoji, and full-resolution photo and video sharing via iCloud.
The biggest shift: Apple confirmed in its WWDC 2026 press materials that iCloud Shared Albums will finally work from Android and Windows, removing a cross-platform sharing barrier that's existed for years.
What else is new across Apple Watch, Health, and CarPlay?
watchOS 27 focuses on battery life and accuracy, with better step tracking, more efficient water detection, and improved Wi-Fi connectivity. A new tap gesture lets you trigger quick actions without touching the screen.
Health adds dedicated perimenopause and menopause symptom logging, paired with new Fitness+ workout programs designed for that life stage — a notable expansion of Apple's broader health-tracking push.
CarPlay picks up audio scrubbing on the Now Playing screen, an audio MiniPlayer, and improved navigation heading accuracy for more reliable turn-by-turn directions.
What is the complete iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 feature list?
Below is the full list of changes Apple has detailed for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and related apps, organized by category for easy reference.
iPhone, iOS 27 & iPadOS 27
- Switch between two iPhone devices with the same phone number
- More seamless transitions between Wi-Fi and cellular networks
- Live Activities in Dynamic Island in landscape
- Enhanced power efficiency for Safari in iOS
- Faster Voice Control response in iOS
- Extra-large widgets in iOS
- Streamlined setup for Touch Accommodations in iOS and iPadOS
- Live Activity for Precision Finding with Friends
- Smoother scrolling in App Library
- Smoother unlocking on iPhone
- Undo and redo Home Screen edits in iPadOS
- Extra-large widgets in Today View in iPadOS
- Faster window closing in iPadOS
- Faster browsing and transfers in Files in iPadOS
- Faster menu bar access in iPadOS
- iPhone app resizing in iPadOS
- Apple News+ audio support in iPadOS
- Faster window switching in iPadOS
- Optional persistent menu bar on iPad
- App names in iPad status bar
- Dual camera in FaceTime
- Faster Lock Screen switching
- Lock Screen consistently stays awake while scrolling notifications
- More power-efficient Personal Hotspot on N1 devices
- Expanded touch support in Sidecar
- Independent alarm volumes
- Smoother camera switching when zooming in video
- Smoother paging between Home Screen pages
- Smoother scrolling in Control Center and Control Gallery
- Easier-to-reach Camera experience
- More accurate photo orientation
- Faster and more reliable NFC reading
- Quick Start with a recovery contact
- Pairing and handoff improvements for Made for iPhone hearing devices
- Faster entry and exit from Assistive Access and Guided Access modes
- Proactive car key setup
macOS 27
- More relevant Spotlight search suggestions
- Faster shortcuts and actions indexing in Spotlight
- Drawing in Notes in macOS
- Updated video podcasts experience in macOS
- Enhanced power efficiency for Safari in macOS
- Edge-to-edge sidebars
- Colorful sidebar icons
- Updated menu bar icons
- Uniform toolbars
- Consistent corner radii
- Faster user account creation in macOS
- Ethernet status in menu bar in macOS
- Improved RDMA over Thunderbolt
- Support for Mac mirroring in 5K resolution
- More high-resolution and high-refresh-rate display modes for external displays
- Swipe down to refresh in macOS
- Smoother scrolling in Safari in macOS
- App resizing in iPhone Mirroring
- DRM video support in iPhone Mirroring
- Drawing in Freeform in macOS
- Smoother animations in Mission Control and Spaces
- Show Borders for macOS accessibility
- HDR for macOS system UI
Apple TV & tvOS 27
- Faster AirPlay connections to Apple TV
- Smart downloads on Apple TV
- AppleCare coverage details in Settings in tvOS
- More responsive Control Center in tvOS
- Redesigned Podcasts app for tvOS
- Larger text sizes in tvOS
- Smoother animations and app launches in tvOS
Apple Watch & watchOS 27
- Better battery efficiency on Apple Watch
- More accurate step tracking on Apple Watch
- More efficient water detection on Apple Watch
- Improved Wi-Fi connectivity in watchOS
- Apple Wallet guest keys in watchOS
- Consolidated Find My app in watchOS
- Faster app extension launch in watchOS
- Tap gesture on Apple Watch
- Faster media playback in watchOS
- Dynamic app grid in watchOS
- Maps Parked Car widget in Smart Stack
- Redesigned settings in the Apple Watch app
- Support for time zone changes in Sleep
- View card balance in Wallet in watchOS
- Transit cards and IDs in Smart Stack in watchOS
- New Smart Stack suggestions in watchOS
Vision Pro & visionOS 27
- Use your panoramas for Environments in visionOS
- Extra-small widget option in visionOS
- New windows with curvature in visionOS
- Improved Control Center in visionOS
- Look and tap to view and respond to notifications in visionOS
- Spatial scene support for panoramas in visionOS
- Faster boot and connect to Wi-Fi in visionOS
- Widget for Mac Virtual Display in visionOS
- Multiple tab views in Safari in visionOS
Home & HomePod
- Faster AirPlay connections to HomePod
- Improved connectivity for Thread home accessories
- Faster smart home accessory updates
- Faster HomeKit accessory pairing
- More reliable HomeKit camera storage
CarPlay
- Audio scrubbing on CarPlay's Now Playing screen
- Improved navigation heading and GPS accuracy in CarPlay
- Improved wireless CarPlay reliability
- Audio MiniPlayer in CarPlay
Photos
- Filter photos and videos in Shared Albums
- Add keywords to photos and videos in Photos
- Album organization improvements in Photos
- Customize slideshows in Photos
- Captured by Me collection in Photos
- Save any slideshow as a video in Photos
- Choose a specific pet in Photo Shuffle
- Search for photos and videos using additional metadata
- Search returns more pleasing photos of people and pets in Photos
- Option to prioritize syncing to iCloud Photos
- Easier to save photos from Shared Albums
- Option to include photos of yourself in Photo Shuffle
- Faster rendering of Collections tab in Photos
- Selection view in Photos
- Identity Documents collection in Photos
- Faster loading of new captures in Photos
- Save a video frame as a photo
- Star rings in Photos
- Full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Shared Albums
- Additional participant permissions in Shared Albums
- Expire your Shared Albums
- Recent activity in Shared Albums
- React with any emoji in Shared Albums
- Participate in iCloud Shared Albums from Android and Windows
- Easier to invite others in Shared Albums
Messages
- Drawing app in Messages
- Find offloaded media in Messages
- Failed messages automatically retry sending in Messages
- Continuous sending of photos, videos, and texts in Messages
- Consolidated notifications for multiple Tapbacks in Messages
- Thumbnails displayed for offloaded media in Messages
- Search for conversations in Messages by phone number or a contact's nickname
- Faster to add recent camera captures in Messages
- Improved Messages syncing across devices
Apple Music & Podcasts
- Improved reliability of Apple Music streaming
- New AutoMix transitions
- Refreshed album pages in Apple Music
- Faster Now Playing view loading in Music
- Refreshed artist pages in Apple Music
- Search within shows in Podcasts
- AirPods Custom EQ
- Faster Apple Music playback start
- Improved Top Results in Mail
- Faster message loading in Mail
- More reliable search indexing in Mail
- Improved list formatting in Mail
- Improved unread badge accuracy in Mail
Maps
- More accurate Visited Places in Maps
- Guides in Maps available in more places
- Enhanced Flyover in Maps
- Offline Maps update improvements
- Natural language search for routing in Maps
Health, Fitness & Journal
- Sort by completed Fitness+ workouts
- Faster data updates in the Health app
- Perimenopause and menopause support in the Health app
- Perimenopause and menopause symptom logging in the Health app
- Increased attachment limits in Journal
- More accurate route maps in the Fitness app after workouts
- iCloud sync status for Journal entries
- Improved distance accuracy during treadmill workouts
- Synced step count in the Health and Fitness apps
- Faster workout start in the Workout app
- Time stamps for Journal entries
- Fitness+ workouts for perimenopause and menopause
- More intuitive journaling streaks
- GymKit on iPhone and AirPods Pro 3
Notes
- Section links in Notes
- Stylized notes from third-party Calendar accounts
- Copy and paste as Markdown in Notes
- Divider lines in Notes
Shortcuts
- Else if support in Shortcuts
- Group conversation support in Shortcuts
- Expanded Get What's on Screen capabilities in Shortcuts
- Store data in Shortcuts
- Redesigned Shortcuts editor
- Screenshot and notification automations in Shortcuts
Freeform
- Faster board previews in Freeform
- More reliable right-to-left text editing in Freeform
- Smoother Freeform board performance
- Dark Mode adaptive canvas in Freeform
- Collaborative folders in Freeform
Safari
- Faster start page content loading in Safari
- Faster web application performance in Safari
- Smoother animations and graphics in Safari
- Faster handling of JavaScript in Safari
- Smoother start page resizing in Safari
Apple Wallet & Apple Pay
- Easier card selection and payment management with Apple Pay
- Wallet order tracking support in Australia and Canada
Find My
- More flexible sharing options in Find My
- Find My UI enhancements
Home
- Support for 4K camera recordings in the Home app
- View streams from compatible cameras simultaneously in the Home app
Calendar
- Modify multiple Calendar events
- Streamlined Calendar event details
- Smoother Calendar scrolling
Accessibility
- Easier reading and editing of PDFs using VoiceOver
- Improved PlayStation Access controller support
- Streamlined Assistive Access setup
System, Performance & Miscellaneous
- Updated Liquid Glass
- Customize Liquid Glass
- Faster app launches
- Web audio no longer interrupts system audio
- Faster PDF saving
- Faster AirDrop transfers
- Faster AirDrop recipient discovery
- Improved Bluetooth power management
- Improved FaceTime quality on poor connections
- Faster network file browsing
- Support for media sharing from third-party apps
- More document formats in Preview
- More efficient emergency alert monitoring
- More consistent window positioning persistence across external displays
- Improved game controller settings
- Improved battery insights
- Improved navigation in Game Overlay
- Improved performance in Apple News
- All options displayed in Camera settings
- Password help accessible from the Lock Screen
- Camera uses less power in Low Power Mode
- Faster Camera launch in Low Power Mode
- Richer iCloud collaboration link previews
- Access requests for items shared via iCloud
- Faster Text Recognition in photos and documents
- Updated app icons
- Optimized CPU scheduler
- Autosize and reset columns
- Faster to open full-screen view from Photos widget
- Faster access to shared content on iCloud.com
- Smoother animations in News and Stocks articles
- More easily accessible share link for iCloud collaboration
- More distinct active windows
- Real-time updates for widgets when app is open
- Faster Rapid Return to Service
- Updated hourly and 10-day views in Weather
- Faster to start uploading to iCloud Photos
- Option-click to secondary sort
- Content-based recipient suggestions for sharing photos and links
- Faster loading of emoji and sticker keyboards
- Smoother scrolling in the widget gallery
- Easier to access recovery codes for Apple Accounts
Languages & Regional
- New UI language for English (Canada) and English (Philippines)
- New keyboard layout for Slovenian and Estonian
- Automatic punctuation when typing on multilingual keyboards
- Natural language time formats for Chinese and Hindi
- Call Recording transcriptions support for Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese
- New keyboards for languages including Afrikaans, Basque, Baybayin, English (Philippines), Galician, Guarani, Luxembourgish, Xhosa, and Zulu
- New keyboards for Indigenous languages, including Blackfoot, Comanche, Cree, Kiowa, and Tsuu'tina
- Faster multilingual text processing for handwriting in multiple languages
- Chāizì typing
- Smart language and keyboard configuration suggestions
- QuickPath and typing suggestions for Vietnamese VNI keyboard
- Multilingual grammar checking
- Holiday-aware alarms in China
- Punctuation suggestions as you type in Chinese
- Alternate calendars for India to support the current time zone while traveling
- Grocery List in Reminders language expansion
- Improved conversion from phonetic scripts like Pinyin and Kana when typing in Simplified Chinese and Japanese
- Live Voicemail transcription for English (Singapore) and Japanese
- Visited Places in Maps available in more markets
- Scribble support for Hindi and Marathi with Apple Pencil
- On-screen context for more relevant typing suggestions for Chinese and Japanese
- Expanded language support for auto-categorization in Reminders
- FaceTime Live Captions for Traditional Chinese
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the iOS 27 release date?
Apple's developer beta launched immediately after the WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, 2026, with a public beta planned for July 2026. The general release is expected in September 2026, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro.
Which iPhones support iOS 27?
iOS 27 supports the same devices as iOS 26, meaning iPhone 11 and the second-generation iPhone SE and newer remain compatible. Older devices won't gain access to Apple Intelligence or Siri AI features.
Does iOS 27 add new widgets?
Yes. iOS 27 introduces extra-large widgets for the Home Screen, and iPadOS 27 adds extra-large widgets to Today View as well.
Can Android users join Apple's Shared Albums in iOS 27?
Yes. iOS 27 allows Android and Windows users to participate in iCloud Shared Albums for the first time, including viewing full-resolution photos and videos.
Does macOS 27 change the look of the Mac interface?
Yes. macOS 27 introduces edge-to-edge sidebars, colorful sidebar icons, uniform toolbars, and consistent corner radii as part of an updated Liquid Glass design language.
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