The Photos app in iOS 27 picks up three editing tools, according to Apple’s iOS 27 page: Spatial Reframing, an Extend tool and an enhanced version of Clean Up. They arrive with the free update on Monday, September 14, alongside Image Playground with photorealistic images and, on the new phones, Apple Reference Image.
Apple’s page names the tools without a manual, so what follows is the published description, the steps that follow from how Photos editing already works, and what to check if a tool is missing from your phone. These steps follow Apple’s published description of the feature on its iOS 27 page. The exact button names and menu positions may shift when iOS 27 ships on September 14, so treat them as a guide rather than a script.
What the three tools do
Apple’s iOS 27 page lists the tools by name and little else, so here is what has been confirmed and what has not.
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| Tool | What Apple’s iOS 27 page says | What Apple has not published |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial Reframing | New Photos tool for iOS 27 | Whether it needs a spatial photo, and whether it works on older captures |
| Extend | New Photos tool for iOS 27 | Output size limits, and whether it uses Apple Intelligence |
| Clean Up | Enhanced in iOS 27 | What changed versus the iOS 26 version |
| Image Playground | Adds photorealistic images | Hardware requirements beyond Apple Intelligence |
Apple’s Duo pages list the same three tools for the iPhone Duo alongside Photographic Styles with tone, color, texture and grain, so they are iOS 27 features rather than iPhone 18 Pro exclusives. Apple’s June announcement also said Photos loads 70 percent faster in iOS 27.
How to use Spatial Reframing, Extend and Clean Up
All three live in the Photos editor, so the path in is the same. The steps below cover the shared route and then each tool.
- Install iOS 27 from Settings, General, Software Update on or after September 14.
- Open Photos and pick the image you want to change.
- Tap Edit.
- For Clean Up, select Clean Up in the editing tools, then tap, brush or circle the object you want removed. Photos fills the gap. Apple describes the iOS 27 version as enhanced, so expect better results on the same kinds of edits rather than a new workflow.
- For Extend, select Extend, then drag the frame edges outward to the size you want. Photos fills the new area. Apple has not published how far you can extend an image.
- For Spatial Reframing, select Spatial Reframing and adjust the framing on screen. Apple has not said whether the tool is limited to spatial photos or video, so try it on a standard photo first and see whether the option appears.
- Tap Done. Photos keeps the original, and you can revert from the Edit screen at any time.
On the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Reference Image stores an untouched original with verification metadata alongside the edits, so a photo can be shown to come from a real capture rather than AI even after Extend or Clean Up has changed it. Apple presented that as an iPhone 18 Pro feature and has not said whether it reaches older models.
Which iPhones get the new Photos tools
Apple’s iOS 27 page draws two lines. iOS 27 itself runs on iPhone 12 and later. Full Apple Intelligence, which covers Image Playground and Siri AI, needs iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 16 and later.
Apple has not said which of Spatial Reframing, Extend and Clean Up sit on the Apple Intelligence side of that line. Clean Up shipped as an Apple Intelligence feature in earlier releases, so it is reasonable to expect the enhanced version to keep that requirement, but the page does not state it.
If a tool is missing or an edit looks wrong
- Check the model. An iPhone 12, 13 or 14 runs iOS 27 but does not get Apple Intelligence, so any tool that depends on it will not appear in the editor.
- Check that Apple Intelligence is on in Settings, Apple Intelligence and Siri, and that the phone language is one Apple supports.
- Try a different photo. Spatial Reframing in particular may need a spatial capture, which Apple has not confirmed either way.
- Revert and retry. Photos keeps the original, so a poor Extend or Clean Up result costs nothing to undo.
- Wait for the release notes. Apple usually documents tool limits when the update goes live.
The iPhone 18 Pro camera with variable aperture adds manual aperture and shutter controls on top of these software tools, and the iPhone Duo cameras get the same Photos editor when the foldable ships in October. Apple has not stated a release hour for iOS 27; it usually ships iOS updates around 10 a.m. Pacific.
