Explore iOS 27 with Apple demo videos, photo-editing guides, supported iPhones, Siri AI availability and step-by-step update instructions.
iOS 27 started rolling out on September 14, 2026. The useful changes include more capable photo editing, adjustable Liquid Glass, and separate alarm and alert volumes. Siri AI is also rolling out, but as an English-language beta on eligible devices; it is initially unavailable on iPhone in the European Union. Apple’s release announcement confirms the launch and those limits.
This guide checks the nine features in The AI Colony’s video thread, explains how to try the documented ones, and includes Apple’s own demonstrations. Two small interface claims still need confirmation; automatic password changes are scheduled for a later update.
Source check: September 14, 2026. This replaces our beta-era overview. Instructions come from Apple’s documentation; iPhoneExtra has not performed device testing. Lead image and demonstration media: Apple.
Before you update: supported iPhones and Siri AI
Check Settings → General → About → Model Name, then compare your model with Apple’s iOS 27 compatibility list. Operating-system support and AI support are separate checks.
Which parts of iOS 27 can your iPhone use?
| Your iPhone | iOS 27 | Apple Intelligence |
|---|
| iPhone 11–14 families; iPhone SE, 2nd and 3rd generation | Listed as compatible | These models do not meet the AI hardware requirement |
|---|
| iPhone 15 and 15 Plus | Listed as compatible | No; the 15 Pro models are different |
|---|
| iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max; iPhone 16 models and later; iPhone Air | Listed as compatible | Eligible hardware; software, language and region conditions apply |
|---|
Apple also lists the announced iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo. Inclusion in a software list does not mean a newly announced phone is already in stores. For the AI baseline, see Apple’s requirements.
In Estonia or elsewhere in the EU? You can have a compatible iPhone and iOS 27 without getting Siri AI at launch. Apple excludes Siri AI on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS in the EU initially. This is a Siri AI restriction, not a blanket exclusion of every Apple Intelligence feature.
Siri AI starts in English; Apple says French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish follow in October. It is unavailable to under-13 users, and some cloud-based AI features have daily usage limits. Check the launch availability notes before upgrading specifically for Siri.
How to install iOS 27
- Make a current backup. Use iCloud or a computer, and check that it finished.
- Connect to Wi-Fi and power. Keep the phone plugged in through installation.
- Open Settings → General → Software Update. Check the version offered for your device.
- Select the iOS 27 update and follow the download and installation prompts. You do not need to join a beta program to install the public release.
- After restarting, check Apple Intelligence & Siri in Settings if your model is eligible. Leave it on Wi-Fi and power while the required AI models download.
These steps follow Apple’s update guide and AI setup instructions. If the update fails, check available storage and the connection using Apple’s update troubleshooting; our storage guide can help you prepare.
Already on a beta? Check the installed build before deciding to restore. Turning off Beta Updates stops future betas; it does not immediately downgrade the phone. Read Apple’s beta-removal instructions before using an erase-and-restore procedure.
Nine features from the thread, checked
1. Siri AI: follow-up questions and useful app actions
On supported configurations, Siri AI can find information across your personal content, understand what is onscreen and carry out supported app actions. It also has a dedicated app for conversation history. Apple’s release-day Siri article distinguishes existing app integrations from additional integrations that are still coming.
A downward swipe from the Dynamic Island opens Siri. Apple’s WWDC gesture demonstration; the release-day instructions are below. Original video. Press play to loop or pause.
Try it: invoke Siri with your voice or the side button; on a Dynamic Island model, Apple also documents a downward swipe from the island. Start with a question about something you can verify, then ask a related follow-up. Open the Siri app to revisit the exchange.
For example, ask for a photo from a trip you remember and check whether Siri finds the right one. Review any proposed message, calendar event or edit before accepting it. An attractive demo does not establish that every third-party app supports every action.
2. Clean Up: remove a distraction from a photo
The useful improvement is better removal and infill, not a promise that every reflection or background person disappears perfectly. Inspect the edges of the edited area before sharing.
- In Photos, open an image and choose Edit → Tools → Clean Up.
- Select the distraction by tapping, brushing or circling it. Undo a poor result.
- If using High Quality, run Clean Up; accept the edit and finish with Done.
Apple documents Auto, Fast and High Quality processing in its photo tools guide.
Three different tools: remove a distraction, expand the frame, or change perspective. Image: Apple. View the release demonstration.
3. The timer interface: useful, but the exact redesign needs confirmation
The thread shows a timer opening around the Dynamic Island from Control Center. Apple’s current timer guide documents the timer workflow, but does not establish this particular interface change. Treat the clip as a demonstration of the author’s software, not a universal screen layout.
The documented route: open Clock → Timers, choose a duration, optionally add a label and end sound, then tap Start. The countdown continues when you switch apps or the display sleeps. This route also works without a Dynamic Island.
Watch item 3 in the original thread.
4. Spatial Reframing: adjust the perspective after capture
Reframe offers a different way to improve composition. Compare details in the result with the original, particularly near the edges.
- Open a photo and choose Edit → Tools → Reframe.
- Drag to change perspective; use two fingers for positioning, scale or rotation.
- Run Reframe, tap the image to compare, then accept and save.
Apple’s Reframe instructions also explain how to reset a saved edit.
Apple’s WWDC demonstration of Spatial Reframing; the shipping workflow is documented in the guide above. Original demo. Press play to loop.
5. Liquid Glass: choose the amount of transparency
Apple confirms a slider running from ultraclear to fully tinted in its release notes. This is a refinement of Liquid Glass, which already existed in iOS 26.
Where to look: Settings → Display & Brightness → Liquid Glass. Adjust the available control while checking text against your usual wallpaper. Apple’s display guide still describes Clear and Tinted choices; the release-day announcement is the source for the new slider. Accessibility contrast settings can affect which appearance controls are available.
Apple’s launch-day Liquid Glass demonstration. Source and availability. Press play to loop.
6. Extend: give a photo more space before using it as wallpaper
The thread calls this “Extend Wallpaper.” Apple confirms Extend in Photos; the checked Lock Screen guide does not confirm a separate new wallpaper command under that name.
- In Photos, choose Edit → Tools → Extend.
- Pinch or drag to expand the background, run Extend, then accept and save.
Follow Apple’s Extend procedure. To use the result as wallpaper, go to Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Photos, choose it, position it and finish the wallpaper setup. See Apple’s wallpaper guide.
Leave breathing room around the subject so the clock and notifications do not cover it. Check that the generated background still looks convincing at full screen size.
7. Passwords: automatic changes are coming later
This is not a launch-day promise. Apple’s iOS page describes automatic password changes but explicitly marks the feature for a future software update. Do not assume installing iOS 27 has changed weak or exposed passwords for you. Continue reviewing and resolving account warnings through the supported process for each service.
8. Apple Music: more distinctive artist pages
Apple confirms redesigned, customizable artist pages for iOS 27. Artists can use their own logo, pin a release or playlist, and choose button colors through Apple Music for Artists. That means the appearance depends partly on how the artist has configured the page. Apple’s artist-page announcement.
Try it as a listener: search for an artist in Music and open their artist page. Look for the artist’s branding and featured release. This is page presentation, not an audio-quality upgrade, and listeners do not upload the artist’s logo themselves.
Watch the artist-page clip in item 8.
9. Separate ringtone, alarm and alert volumes
This is confirmed in Apple’s new sound settings guide. Alarms and timers share one control; alerts and system sounds share another. They are not separate volume controls for every individual app.
- Open Settings → Sounds & Haptics.
- Under Alarms and Timers, turn off Match Ringtone Volume and adjust the slider.
- Repeat under Alerts and System Sounds if you want a different level there.
- Set a short test timer and check that you can hear it at the level you chose.
This is a practical place to start if you want quiet everyday notifications but an audible timer. Media playback volume is a separate control.
Watch the official demos and keep exploring
Watch: Introducing Siri AI — Apple’s official video. Opens on Apple Newsroom, where playback and available captions are provided by Apple.
Our suggested first session: check your update, set the alert volumes you want, adjust readability, and try one photo edit on an image you can compare with the original. Then explore Siri AI if it is available for your configuration. That gives you a useful result without depending on every feature in a viral thread appearing at once.
