digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: Install iOS 27 when it is released, since this update is a refinement with many small improvements and has been very stable in the developer betas. The top five features, in the reviewer's ranking order from fifth to first, are new Photos editing tools (Extend and Spatial Reframe), long-awaited system fixes, aesthetic tweaks, a rebuilt Siri (Siri AI), and across-the-board speed improvements. The reviewer says the update is worth installing even though some people are wary of software updates.
Key Points
- The reviewer calls iOS 27 an update of refinement rather than sweeping change, and says it has been among the most stable developer betas Apple has released in a long time.
- The top five features in ranking order are: 5) new Photos editing tools, 4) long-awaited fixes ("frickin' finally"), 3) aesthetic tweaks, 2) the new Siri (Siri AI), and 1) noticeably faster performance.
- The Extend and Spatial Reframe tools use generative AI, but Spatial Reframe degrades more quickly than Extend and is mainly a tech demo, though he finds it convenient for perfecting near-symmetrical shots that are already almost aligned.
- The new Siri can search personal data on the phone (iMessages, emails, calendar events, photos), and third-party apps are expected to connect to it through developer updates later.
- Speed gains are the top feature, with compatibility extending back to iPhone 11 (2019), and the reviewer finds older phones benefit most, while gains on newer iPhones like the 16/17/18 are more subtle.
Honorable mentions from the video:
- Photos app: a Lookup Nutrition button for food photos gives a rough health rating.
- Passwords app: can automatically log in and fix weak or compromised passwords.
- Shortcuts: can create a new shortcut from a natural-language description and let you edit it afterward.
- iMessage: threaded replies with Android users are now supported.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Photos editing: open a photo, tap Edit, and choose Extend to extend the edges of the frame by pinching out, or Spatial Reframe to drag and change the apparent camera perspective. Both require an internet connection.
- Each photo can be extended or reframed only once in the app. Screenshotting the result allows repeated edits, which the reviewer says is a workaround.
- To get Siri to access third-party app data, choose the app when Siri asks, as the reviewer did with Porsche's app to check car battery status.
- To use Siri's camera mode, swipe to the Siri mode in the camera app, take a photo, and ask Siri about the image.
- Adjust the Liquid Glass amount in the new Appearances tab using the slider: center is the default, right is more opaque and frosted, and left is more transparent.
- The lock screen has a new compact clock option.
- The new Siri can be sped up through its voice customization settings.
- Siri's personal-data search needs a few days of background indexing after the update, which took the reviewer about two days.
- Custom EQ for AirPods is a three-band equalizer and requires an H2 chip or later.
- Separate alarm volume from system volume is now available, which the reviewer says Android offered for about 20 years.
- The reviewer notes that Siri's cross-app access depends on developers updating their apps, so the full capability is still pending.
Bottom Line
iOS 27 is a polish-focused update whose biggest practical gain is speed, especially on older iPhones, while the new Siri is the most significant functional addition but depends on third-party app support that is still rolling out.
