Photos in iOS 27 gains two new editing tools. Spatial Reframing, in Apple’s words, reframes a photo after it has been taken, and the Extend tool expands a shot, which Apple ties to straightening horizons and changing aspect ratios. Both arrive on Monday, September 14.
Both are Apple Intelligence features rather than ordinary edits, which decides two things: the iPhones that get them, and the fact that Apple has attached a daily usage limit to the category they belong to.
| Item | What Apple published |
|---|---|
| Spatial Reframing | Reframe a photo after it has been taken |
| Extend | Expand your shots, straighten horizons, change aspect ratios |
| Clean Up | Remove even larger objects, with more realistic infill |
| Requirement | An Apple Intelligence device set to a supported language |
| Also on | iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate |
| Limits | Intelligent Photo Editing Tools are named in Apple’s daily usage limit footnote |
| Release | Monday, September 14, 2026, free |
What the two new tools do, in Apple’s words
Apple’s descriptions are short and worth quoting rather than paraphrasing, because the difference between them is easy to blur. Spatial Reframing is about the framing of a shot you already took. Extend is about adding image area beyond the original edges.
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| Tool | Apple’s description | Platforms Apple lists |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial Reframing | Reframe a photo after it’s been taken | iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 |
| Extend | Expand your shots with the Extend tool, straighten horizons, change aspect ratios | iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 |
| Clean Up, enhanced | Remove even larger objects with the enhanced Clean Up tool, more realistic infill | iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 |
Apple has not published a step by step description of either tool, has not said what happens at the edges of an extended frame, and has not shown the maximum amount a photo can be expanded by. Nothing beyond the lines above is documented.
Clean Up gets bigger objects and more realistic infill
The third tool is not new but is being upgraded in the same release. Apple says the enhanced Clean Up removes even larger objects and produces more realistic infill, which puts it on the same footing as the two arrivals, and in the same footnote.
All three work on photographs the camera has already taken, so the capture side is unchanged by them. What the newest hardware brings to that stage, including the four aperture stops on the main camera, is covered in our iPhone 18 Pro camera explainer.
The devices that can run them
Installing iOS 27 is not enough. The update reaches iPhone 11 and later plus iPhone SE second generation and later, but the editing tools follow the Apple Intelligence list, which starts at iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and then covers iPhone 16 and later, including iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e, iPhone Air, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo.
On other platforms the requirement is an iPad Pro or iPad Air with M1 or later, an iPad mini with A17 Pro, a Mac with Apple silicon, or MacBook Neo. The chips involved are set out in our A20 Pro explainer.
Why Apple attached a daily limit
Apple’s footnote says certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, and it names Intelligent Photo Editing Tools alongside Siri AI, Image Playground and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts.
That tells you these edits are not purely on-device work. Apple adds that limits may vary by feature, request complexity and system demand, that increased access comes with most iCloud+ plans, and that expanded access will be available for a fee in the future. It publishes no actual number for any of it.
Photos itself is faster in iOS 27
Apple also published three performance claims with this release, each with its own test conditions. Photos loads up to 70 percent faster after a capture, tested on an iPhone 15 with a 50,000-asset library. App launches are up to 30 percent faster, tested on an iPhone 11 Pro Max comparing iOS 26.4.2 with prerelease iOS 27 between April and May 2026. AirDrop is up to 80 percent faster, tested on an iPhone 16 Plus sending a 30MB photo with no Wi-Fi network.
Those are Apple’s own measurements under conditions Apple chose, which is different from an independent test, and the Photos figure is about loading speed rather than editing speed. Everything landing on Monday is collected in our event recap.
What Apple has not said
- How far Extend can expand a photo, or at what resolution.
- Whether Spatial Reframing needs a specific capture format to work.
- How many edits a day the limit allows, on any plan.
- Whether the new Photos tools are available in the EU, which Apple addresses only for Siri AI and features that rely on it.
- Whether edits made with these tools are flagged in a photo’s metadata.
iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate all ship on Monday, September 14 as free updates, and Apple says the new Apple Intelligence features are available starting that day. The daily limit is the part to test first, because it is the only part Apple has priced.
