iOS 27 arrives on Monday, September 14, as a free update, and Apple’s press release for today’s event names five additions beyond the new Siri: Image Playground with photorealistic images, Safari Notify Me, iPhone Handoff, Apple Reference Image and the Siri AI beta itself. Apple has not published a full feature list for the release.
The update lands four days before the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max reach stores on September 18, so every eligible iPhone gets the software before the new hardware ships. Here is what Apple has confirmed about each feature, and where the release stops short.
iOS 27 features Apple announced at the event
- Siri AI: Apple’s new Siri launches in beta in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish following in October. It needs an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence.
- Image Playground with photorealistic images: Apple’s image generator gains a photorealistic output option. Apple has not said whether this is limited to Apple Intelligence iPhones.
- Safari Notify Me: a new Safari feature Apple names in the release without describing how it works or what it notifies you about.
- iPhone Handoff: described as carrier-dependent, so availability will vary by network. Apple has not listed supported carriers or countries.
- Apple Reference Image: stores an untouched original with verification metadata alongside edits so a photo can be shown to come from a real capture rather than AI.
Apple Intelligence, which underpins Siri AI and Image Playground, runs on-device and with Private Cloud Compute. Apple has not said which of the five features rely on it beyond Siri AI.
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What Apple has and has not detailed
The release treats these features as headlines rather than documentation, so several practical questions remain open. The table below separates confirmed detail from gaps.
| Feature | Confirmed | Not specified by Apple |
|---|---|---|
| Siri AI | Beta, English at launch, five more languages in October, Apple Intelligence iPhone required | Eligible models by name, end of beta |
| Image Playground | Photorealistic images added | Hardware requirements, styles available |
| Safari Notify Me | Name only | What it does, how to enable it |
| iPhone Handoff | Carrier-dependent | Carriers, countries, what is handed off |
| Apple Reference Image | Untouched original with verification metadata stored alongside edits | Whether it works on older iPhones |
Apple Reference Image is the feature most closely tied to the new phones. Apple presented it as part of the iPhone 18 Pro camera story, alongside the 48MP Fusion camera with variable aperture, but the release also lists it under iOS 27 without limiting it to the new models.
iOS 27 release date and what to expect next
iOS 27 is a free update available on September 14. Apple has not stated a release time, and it has not said whether the Siri AI beta is switched on automatically or requires opting in after the update installs.
Apple usually publishes a full features page and release notes when the update goes live, which is where Safari Notify Me and iPhone Handoff should get proper descriptions. Until then, treat anything beyond the five names above as unconfirmed.
The hardware side of the event covered the iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5 and, according to the keynote, the foldable iPhone Duo, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. AirPods 5 depend on iOS 27 for hands-free Siri AI, so the update matters to earbud buyers as much as iPhone owners. Our event live blog has the full sequence of announcements, and our explainer on why there is no standard iPhone 18 today covers the phone that did not appear.
