Beyond Siri: Here are the practical AI features coming to your iPhone in iOS 27
Siri’s AI overhaul may have been the headline announcement at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, but Apple’s broader AI strategy is taking shape
Siri’s AI overhaul may have been the headline announcement at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, but Apple’s broader AI strategy is taking shape through a series of smaller features embedded across its software. Rather than asking consumers to adopt the new AI-powered version of Siri to get all the benefits that AI brings, the company is weaving AI into the apps and services people already use, with a focus on solving real-world problems. The result is that your iPhone will be able to split restaurant bills among friends, secure your passwords after data breaches, automate tasks, and organize information with less manual effort, among other things. Individually, these features may not be as dramatic as a Siri that finally understands your personal context and can take action on your behalf. But combined, they showcase a vision for AI that’s less about chatting with a bot and more about making Apple’s software itself feel smarter and more capable. Beyond Siri AI, here are the smaller AI features in iOS 27 that we’re most looking forward to using. The features are live now in the developer beta and will soon arrive in the public beta, before iOS 27’s general public release later this fall. Bill splitting When iOS 27 rolls out later this fall, customers will be able to split the restaurant bill using Apple Cash. Powered by Apple Intelligence, you simply take a photo of the receipt (or upload a photo), and you’ll then see a new option that lets you choose to split the bill with others. Apple Intelligence works to extract the key details from the bill, like the items ordered and the quantities, the tip, and the total. You can choose the items you ordered from the receipt and then share a request for others to do the same by messaging the group chat. Others can select their items and quantities — even selecting a half (1/2) if they split with another. To pay, you double-click just as you would for any other Apple Cash transaction.
Image Credits:Apple The bill-splitting option doesn’t feel complicated because it only shows up when it’s needed and works with existing apps and services people already know, like Messages and Apple Cash. It’s also smart enough to request everyone’s share of the tax and tip along with the item prices. Thanks to password managers like Apple’s Passwords app or others from third parties like 1Password, Dashlane, or Bitwarden, you’ve now likely created complex passwords that aren’t prone to being easily guessed. Unfortunately, that’s no longer enough to keep passwords secure. As numerous data breaches have shown us over the years, your passwords often still end up in the hands of bad actors through no fault of your own. Image Credits:Apple Apple’s new password-updating feature will now leverage AI to agentically take action on users’ behalf by identifying both weak and compromised passwords — like those found in a data breach. Instead of forcing you to manually update your passwords, the feature securely navigates websites, signing in and upgrading your passwords to new, more secure versions. Messages’ one-tap suggestions If you thought the feature that automatically displays the SMS passcode you need to sign into a website right above the keyboard is one of the best things Apple has ever introduced, you’re going to like the new one-tap suggestions in iOS 27. Image Credits:Apple Using Apple Intelligence, the Messages app will offer a variety of one-tap suggestions based on the topics of users’ conversations. For instance, if a friend texts to ask you to bring them something when you meet up, the one-tap suggestion might ask if you’d like to add the request to your reminders. If someone asks you to share the photos from an event, Apple Intelligence can suggest the right photos to send using its understanding of keywords, locations, and the people in their Photos Library. Or, if you’re planning a dinner date or work meeting, Messages can prompt you to add the event to your Calendar.
