Apple has released the latest software updates for its iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple TV platforms.
Siri AI and Apple Intelligence
The updates introduce Siri AI, powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence. Siri AI can understand personal context from messages, emails, and photos, use current information from the web, understand onscreen content, and perform more actions across the system.
Some of the new Siri AI capabilities include:
- Understanding personal context across messages, emails, and photos.
- Answering questions using up-to-date information from the web.
- Understanding onscreen content and taking related actions.
- Following up on previous questions in a conversation.
- Working with supported apps to perform tasks such as messaging, finding information, and creating calendar events.
- Using Camera on iPhone to understand what is in front of the user.
- Understanding physical objects and app content through Apple Vision Pro.
Apple has also introduced a dedicated Siri app that privately syncs conversation history through iCloud across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Siri can be invoked through Hey Siri and device-specific controls, while iPad and Mac also integrate it into Spotlight and context menus.
Writing Tools now integrate with Siri AI across supported apps. Users can describe what they want to write or change, while the system can proofread text, apply capitalization and punctuation, and adjust writing based on the recipient in Mail and Messages.
Visual Intelligence, Photos and Image Playground
Visual Intelligence extends Apple Intelligence to images and onscreen content. On iPad, it is integrated into the screenshot experience, while Mac users can select content on the display and interact with Siri.
The Photos and Image Playground updates include:
- Photos: Spatial Reframing, Extend, and an upgraded Clean Up tool.
- Image Playground: A new generative model that can create images in different styles, including photorealistic images.
- AI image identification: Upcoming SynthID support will help identify AI-generated or edited images.
- Safari: Automatically organizes tabs into topics and adds Notify Me for website changes such as restocks and price drops.
- Custom extensions: Safari extensions can be created by describing what is needed.
Apple Intelligence across apps
Apple has also added Apple Intelligence capabilities to several everyday apps and system features.
These include:
- Mail and Messages: Smart Reply and more capable Mail Suggestions.
- Call Context: Surfaces information such as confirmation codes and reservation numbers during calls.
- Calendar: Adds and modifies events.
- Shortcuts: Supports more complex automations.
- Home: Groups related notifications and provides generated descriptions for video clips.
- Search: Spotlight, Photos, and Mail receive stability and efficiency improvements, while Mail gets new ranking for Top Hits.
Child safety and Screen Time
Apple has introduced new child-safety features with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27. The updated child account setup includes recommended essential apps, while parents can choose which apps children can access and add more over time.
The new parental controls include:
- Ask to Browse: Requires parental approval before a child accesses a new website in Safari.
- Contact approval: Parents can approve contacts for children.
- Communication Safety: Detects and blocks gore and violent content in shared images and videos, in addition to nudity, including live FaceTime calls.
- Time Allowances: Provides age-tailored guidance for managing time across Social Media, Entertainment, and Games.
- Screen Time: Shows device usage and top apps at a glance, with one-tap controls and schedules for app access.
Apple says the guidance was developed with online safety and health experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is also working with the AAP to adapt its Family Media Plan into a guide. All devices in a Family Sharing group must be updated to the latest supported software to use the Screen Time update.
Performance, connectivity and Liquid Glass
Apple says the software updates also improve performance and connectivity across its platforms.
Performance improvements include:
- iPhone and iPad apps can launch up to 30% faster.
- Photos can load up to 70% faster after being taken.
- AirDrop transfers can be up to 80% faster.
- iPad file browsing and transfers to an external USB drive can be up to 5x faster.
- Mac gets faster AirDrop and iCloud Photos uploads.
- Music playback on Apple Watch is faster.
- iPad and Mac get improvements to closing, switching, and dragging windows.
Connectivity changes include smoother transitions between cellular and Wi-Fi on iPhone and iPad. Large photos and videos sent through Messages over low-bandwidth connections no longer block subsequent texts. Mac gets faster network file browsing, while Apple Vision Pro can start and connect to Wi-Fi up to three times faster.
Apple has also refined the Liquid Glass design. A new Settings slider lets users adjust the appearance from ultraclear to fully tinted, while app icons have been updated with sharper, more defined visuals.
Updates across Apple platforms
The software updates also bring changes to iCloud, Health, AirPods, Maps, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple TV.
- iCloud Shared Albums: Adds full-resolution photo and video sharing, with easier joining and contribution for Android and Windows users.
- Health: Cycle Tracking adds perimenopause and menopause support, including notifications about cycle deviations.
- AirPods: Adds custom EQ. Apple is also expanding Apple GymKit, with AirPods Pro 3 able to sync heart rate through an iPhone while listening.
- Maps: Flyover gets enhanced aerial imagery and AI.
- Apple Watch: Smart Stack can suggest widgets when relevant, with a single-handed tap to open them. Workout Buddy can work without an iPhone nearby and adds Spanish support alongside English.
- Apple Vision Pro: Panoramas can be converted into spatial scenes with depth and used as personal Environments. A new Thórsmörk Environment features a dynamic Icelandic aurora.
- Apple TV: Adds high-resolution lossless Apple Music audio, a redesigned Apple Podcasts experience, and broader text-size accessibility options.
Apple Intelligence supported devices
Features coming later this year
Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 will gain Audio Intelligence features using the built-in microphone, S11 chip, Apple Intelligence models on iPhone, and Private Cloud Compute.
The upcoming features include:
- Sound Recognition: Detects sounds such as sirens, alarms, doorbells, and a baby crying, even without an iPhone nearby.
- Live Rewind: Turns the previous 15 seconds of audio into a text snippet that users can review, save, or ask Siri about.
- Siri Recap: Provides a high-level summary with a title and key points rather than a transcript.
- Music Recognition: Adds Shazam to the Music Recognition widget in Smart Stack.
Apple says audio recordings are not stored, while raw audio is not accessible to the operating system, apps, users, or Apple. The S11 Secure Exclave processes the audio and immediately deletes it. Users can opt into each Audio Intelligence feature separately.
A redesigned Health experience is also coming later this year, adding personalized guidance based on health metrics and an Insights tab with Apple Intelligence summaries.
Privacy and availability
Apple says its next-generation foundation models were developed with Google and Gemini models and run on-device or through Private Cloud Compute. Personal data processed through Private Cloud Compute is not stored or accessible by Apple or other parties, while outside experts can verify the system’s privacy protections.
Siri AI is available as a beta in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish support coming in October.
Other availability details include:
Apple says usage limits can vary based on the feature, request complexity, system demand, and other policies. Expanded access for a fee will be available in the future.
The new software updates are rolling out from September 14 across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27. Feature availability may vary by language, region, device, and legal requirements.