iOS 27 Apple Intelligence Guide: New Siri, Supported iPhones and How to Turn It On

iOS 27 is the update where Apple Intelligence finally caught up with the promises Apple made back in 2024. Siri has been rebuilt as a conversational, chatbot-style assistant with its own app, it can understand what is on your screen and take multi-step actions inside apps, and Visual Intelligence now lives inside the Camera. Apple shipped iOS 27 in mid-September 2026 after announcing it at WWDC on June 8. This guide explains every Apple Intelligence feature in iOS 27, which iPhones support it, how to turn it on, the daily limits nobody mentions, and practical ways to use the new Siri.

Supported iPhones for iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence

There are two different lists, and confusing them is the most common question I see. iOS 27 itself supports a wide range of iPhones, but Apple Intelligence needs more memory and a newer Neural Engine.

Apple Intelligence also needs free storage for its models (Apple has asked for around 7 GB in earlier versions; budget more for iOS 27) and your device and Siri language set to a supported language.

How to Turn On Apple Intelligence

1. Update: Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 27 (or the latest 27.x).
2. Open Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri.
3. Turn on Apple Intelligence. The models download in the background over Wi-Fi; keep the phone charging.
4. Make sure Siri is enabled and your Siri language matches your device language.
5. Optional: open the new Siri app once to sign in to iCloud sync for conversations.

Apple Intelligence supports many languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese (several of which arrived with iOS 26.1 in November 2025). Some iOS 27 features, especially the new Siri, may launch in fewer languages first.

The New Siri Explained

The headline feature is what Apple calls Siri AI: a generative assistant you can talk to like a chatbot. In practice that means four things:

• Natural conversation: follow-up questions work, you can change your mind mid-sentence and Siri keeps context.
• Personal context: Siri can use information in your apps, such as Messages, Mail and Calendar, to answer “when is Mum’s flight landing?” without you digging for the email.
• On-screen awareness: ask about what you are looking at (“add this address to his contact card”).
• Actions in apps: multi-step tasks such as adding calendar events from a chat or sorting photos into an album.

Siri also moved. It now lives in the Dynamic Island, and a new Search or Ask interface replaces Spotlight when you swipe down, so search and Siri are one place. Notification Center moved to a swipe from the upper-left corner, which takes a day to get used to. There is also a dedicated Siri app where conversations are saved and synced through iCloud, so you can continue a chat on your iPad or Mac.

Visual Intelligence and Live Recognition

Visual Intelligence is now a Siri mode inside the Camera app rather than a separate Camera Control trick. Point the camera at something and it can identify objects and plants, look up nutrition for food, add several events from a poster to Calendar at once, split a restaurant receipt, save a business card as a contact or add a membership card to Wallet.

Live Recognition is the accessibility-minded sibling: it uses the camera and on-device models to describe people, objects and surroundings in real time, and you can ask follow-up questions. You trigger it with the Action button, so assign it in Settings > Action Button.

Writing Tools in iOS 27

Writing Tools now sit inside Siri as well as appearing system-wide when you select text. You can generate a draft, rewrite in a different tone, proofread or summarise in any app with a text field. Select text, tap Writing Tools in the edit menu, or simply ask Siri, “make this email sound more polite”. Journal gets AI writing prompts, and Calendar, Reminders and Shortcuts accept plain-language input such as “remind me every second Tuesday to pay the plumber”.

Image Playground, Genmoji and Photos

Image Playground was the weakest part of Apple Intelligence in 2025. In iOS 27 it has been overhauled: it can generate images in any style, including photorealistic ones, and you can refine results by text or by touch. Genmoji creation is faster and the results are cleaner.

In Photos, Clean Up removes objects more convincingly, and two new tools arrive:

• Reframe: AI recomposes a photo, useful for fixing tilted or badly centred shots.
• Extend: generates content beyond the original edges so you can change the aspect ratio, similar to Photoshop’s Generative Expand.

If you want more control over AI image editing, my Photoshop AI features guide covers Generative Fill and Expand in depth.

Apple Intelligence in Safari, Passwords, Wallet and More

• Safari organises tabs, bookmarks and Reading List into topics, supports custom extensions written in plain language and adds Notify Me for page changes (prices, stock, news).
• Passwords can visit a site, sign in and replace a weak password with a strong one for you.
• Wallet adds Create a Pass to turn tickets or cards into passes.
• Phone gets Call Context, and Messages shows suggested actions.
• Home camera intelligence features need an iCloud+ plan of 2 TB or more.

Daily Limits and iCloud+

This is new in iOS 27 and easy to miss. Resource-heavy features such as image generation now have daily usage limits. Paid iCloud+ subscribers get higher limits, except on the 50 GB tier. If you hit a limit, the feature tells you and resets the next day. Text features like Writing Tools and everyday Siri requests are not the bottleneck for most people.

Privacy, Private Cloud Compute and Gemini

Apple’s approach is still on-device first. Smaller requests run on the iPhone’s Neural Engine, and larger ones go to Private Cloud Compute, Apple’s own servers that Apple says do not store your data and can be inspected by independent researchers.

The bigger story is who built the brains. In January 2026, Apple and Google announced a multi-year agreement under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models is based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology, and this powers the new Siri. Apple says Apple Intelligence continues to run on device and on Private Cloud Compute with its privacy standards. Separately, you can still connect ChatGPT as an optional extension in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri.

Regional note: the new Siri is not available at launch in the European Union or mainland China, although other Apple Intelligence features may be.

20 Useful Things to Ask the New Siri

1. “What time does my sister’s flight land?” (reads Mail and Messages)
2. “Add the dinner plans from this chat to my calendar.”
3. “Summarise my unread emails from work.”
4. “Find the photo of the parking level I took yesterday.”
5. “Put all photos from my Goa trip into a new album.”
6. “Rewrite this message so it sounds friendly but firm.”
7. “Translate what is on my screen into Spanish.”
8. “Remind me to call the bank when I get to the office.”
9. “What is this plant?” (Visual Intelligence in Camera)
10. “Split this receipt between four people.”
11. “Turn on Low Power Mode and dim the screen.”
12. “Notify me when this product page drops in price.” (Safari)
13. “Make a pass from this concert ticket.”
14. “Create a Genmoji of a cat wearing headphones.”
15. “Proofread my note titled Speech.”
16. “Which of my passwords are weak? Fix the Netflix one.”
17. “Start a 25-minute focus timer and silence notifications.”
18. “Who did I promise to send the slides to?”
19. “Continue the conversation we had about holiday plans.” (Siri app history)
20. “Describe what is in front of me.” (Live Recognition)

Apple Intelligence Not Working? Fixes

• Option missing in Settings: your iPhone is not supported (see the table) or your device or Siri language is unsupported.
• Stuck on “Downloading”: connect to Wi-Fi and power, free up storage, and leave it for an hour.
• New Siri not showing: check your region; EU and China accounts do not get it at launch.
• Image generation stops: you reached the daily limit. It resets the next day, or upgrade iCloud+.
• Siri cannot see app data: open Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Apps and allow “Learn from this app” for the apps you want it to use.

Should You Upgrade Your iPhone for Apple Intelligence?

Comparing platforms? See how Google and Samsung do it in my Pixel 11 AI features guide and Galaxy AI with One UI 9 guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the iPhone 15 get Apple Intelligence in iOS 27?

Only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. The standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus get iOS 27 but not Apple Intelligence.

Is the new Siri powered by Google Gemini?

Apple and Google confirmed in January 2026 that Apple’s next-generation foundation models are based on Gemini technology. Requests still run on device or on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, not as a Google-branded chatbot.

Is Apple Intelligence free?

Yes, it is included with supported iPhones. Heavy features have daily limits, which paid iCloud+ plans (above 50 GB) raise.

Can I turn off Apple Intelligence?

Yes. Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and switch it off. The downloaded models are removed to free storage.

Is Apple Intelligence available in India?

Apple Intelligence works in India when the device and Siri language are set to a supported language such as English (India). Feature availability can still differ from the US.

How much storage does Apple Intelligence need?

Apple asked for about 7 GB of free space in earlier versions. Keep at least 10 GB free on iOS 27 so models can download and update.

Does Apple Intelligence drain the battery?

Expect higher use for a day or two while models download and index your data. After that, normal daily use has little impact.

Final Thoughts

iOS 27 is the first version of Apple Intelligence I would call essential rather than optional. The new Siri that understands your apps and screen is the reason to upgrade, and Visual Intelligence in Camera is surprisingly practical day to day. If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, update, turn it on, and try the prompts above for a week.

On Android instead? Compare with my guides to Galaxy AI in One UI 9, Pixel 11 AI features and Gemini replacing Google Assistant.

Sources

• Wikipedia: iOS 27
• CNBC: Apple releases iOS 27 with redesigned Siri AI
• MacRumors: iOS 27 roundup
• Engadget: Apple’s Siri AI will be powered by Gemini
• AppleInsider: iOS 26.1 adds more Apple Intelligence languages