iOS 27 Features: Everything Apple Is About to Change
Apple is three months away from revealing iOS 27 at WWDC 2026, and the rumors are already painting a picture of a genuinely transformative update. From a redesigned Siri powered by a custom AI model to a brand-new layout built specifically for the foldable iPhone, this is shaping up to be the leap forward that many users were expecting last year. Here is everything we know so far.
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| Credit: Google |
The iPhone Fold Is Forcing Apple to Reinvent iOS
The biggest driver behind iOS 27 is a product that does not even exist yet — the iPhone Fold. Apple is widely expected to launch its first foldable iPhone this September, and building a new form factor from scratch means the software has to change dramatically alongside the hardware. iOS 27 is being developed with that challenge front and center.
When folded, the device is expected to carry a 5.5-inch display that behaves like a standard iPhone. Open it up, and you get a 7.8-inch screen with an aspect ratio closer to an iPad than a typical phone. That dual-mode design requires iOS to do something it has never done before — shift fluidly between two entirely different interface experiences on a single device.
Apple is reportedly going with a wider 4:3 aspect ratio for the unfolded display, which gives it far more usable horizontal space than most competitors in the foldable market. That extra real estate is not just cosmetic. It changes how apps are laid out, how information is displayed, and how users interact with their phone throughout the day.
A Split-Screen Experience Without iPadOS
One of the most interesting design decisions Apple is reportedly making is keeping the iPhone Fold on iOS rather than moving it to iPadOS. This means the foldable will not run iPad apps, even when it is fully open. Instead, Apple is building a new tier of iOS that sits between what iPhone users know today and the tablet-style layout they might expect.
When the iPhone Fold is open, apps will shift into a sidebar layout, with navigation controls and menus appearing on the left side of the screen. Two apps will be usable side by side, much like the split-view multitasking that iPad owners have had for years. But it will all run within iOS, with Apple providing developers a new toolkit to adapt their existing iPhone apps to the wider format.
This approach makes a lot of sense strategically. Apple does not want to fragment its app ecosystem, and asking developers to build separate iPad-compatible versions of their apps for a phone would create unnecessary complexity. By extending iOS rather than switching platforms, Apple keeps things consistent while still unlocking genuinely new functionality.
Siri Is Getting the Overhaul It Was Promised
The most anticipated change in iOS 27 is the one that was supposed to come sooner. Apple announced a reimagined, deeply intelligent version of Siri over a year ago, and it still has not arrived. Development issues pushed the rollout repeatedly, and the version of Siri that ships in iOS 26 is still largely the assistant people have been frustrated with for years.
iOS 27 is expected to be where that changes for real. Apple is working on a chatbot version of Siri — one that operates more like the conversational AI assistants people have grown accustomed to using. Rather than responding to isolated commands, this version of Siri would handle back-and-forth dialogue, retain context across a conversation, and tackle complex multi-step requests without needing everything spelled out in a single sentence.
There is still some uncertainty around the rollout timeline. Apple may release the core Apple Intelligence features in an earlier iOS 26 update before WWDC, with the full chatbot experience arriving as part of iOS 27 later in the year. Either way, the ambition is clear — Apple wants Siri to feel like a genuine AI assistant, not just a voice shortcut launcher.
Apple and Google Are Building the New Siri Together
Here is where things get genuinely surprising. Apple is not building the new Siri entirely in-house. According to reports, the company has partnered with Google to develop a custom AI model that will power some of Siri's most advanced new capabilities, including the chatbot functionality.
This is a striking move for a company that has historically guarded its core technologies closely. It suggests Apple recognizes that it is behind the curve in conversational AI, and that catching up quickly requires leaning on external expertise. Google's Gemini team is reportedly involved in the collaboration, lending its large language model capabilities to Apple's assistant.
What this partnership will look like in practice — whether users will see any sign of it or whether it will be invisible infrastructure — remains to be seen. But it signals that Apple is serious about making Siri competitive again, and that it is willing to move fast to get there.
New Apple Intelligence Features Across the Board
Beyond the Siri overhaul, iOS 27 is expected to bring a broader wave of Apple Intelligence upgrades that touch many parts of the operating system. The details are still emerging, but the direction is clear — Apple wants AI assistance woven into daily tasks in a way that feels natural rather than bolted on.
Last year's iOS 26 introduced the foundation. iOS 27 is where that foundation gets built upon in a meaningful way. Users can expect improvements in areas like writing tools, image generation, summarization, and on-device understanding of context. The exact feature list will likely become clearer as WWDC 2026 approaches, but the expectation is that iOS 27 will feel like a more coherent and capable AI-powered system than what came before.
What This Means for iPhone Users Right Now
If you are using an iPhone today, the most practical takeaway is this — the next major software update is worth paying attention to. iOS 27 is not going to be a maintenance release. It is a generational shift driven by new hardware, new partnerships, and years of delayed promises finally coming to fruition.
The iPhone Fold will be the flagship showcase for everything iOS 27 can do, but the changes to Siri and Apple Intelligence will apply across all compatible devices. You do not need to buy a foldable phone to benefit from the improvements coming this fall.
Apple will officially unveil iOS 27 at WWDC 2026, which typically takes place in early June. That is when the first developer betas will drop, giving a clearer picture of the final feature set. Until then, the rumors are pointing toward an update that finally delivers on a lot of what Apple has been building toward.
The wait, by most accounts, is nearly over.
