iOS 27: release date, supported iPhones, new features and how to update

iOS 27 is the version of iPhone software Apple released on September 14, 2026, and it is built around Siri AI, a rebuilt, conversational Siri. The update is free and works on a wide range of iPhones, but the biggest new features have tighter requirements. This guide covers the release date, which iPhones can update, what’s new, how the Siri AI requirements differ, and how to update safely. Everything here comes from Apple’s own announcement and support pages.

iOS 27 at a glance

Which iPhones can update to iOS 27?

Apple’s compatibility page lists these models:

• iPhone 11 series: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max.
• iPhone SE: iPhone SE (2nd generation and later).
• iPhone 12 series: iPhone 12 mini, 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max.
• iPhone 13 series: iPhone 13 mini, 13, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max.
• iPhone 14 series: iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max.
• iPhone 15 series: iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max.
• iPhone 16 series: iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 16e.
• iPhone 17 series: iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e, and iPhone Air.
• iPhone 18 series: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Apple adds that features and apps may vary by iPhone model, region, language and carrier. To check your model, open Settings, tap General, then About.

What’s new in iOS 27

According to Apple’s “What’s new in iOS 27” page:

• Siri AI (beta): a conversational assistant with broad world knowledge and personal context. Conversations are saved in a dedicated Siri app, and Siri can find a photo, an email or a note and take action across your apps. Siri writing tools help you draft, get feedback and adjust tone. Visual Intelligence comes to the Camera through a Siri mode. See our guide on how to use Siri AI.
• Photos: Apple Intelligence tools to reframe a photo after it is taken, extend its borders and remove distractions more precisely; iCloud Shared Albums support full-resolution sharing; you can save any frame from a video as a photo.
• Safari: tabs can be grouped automatically into topics; you can create your own extension from a description; Notify Me alerts you when a page changes, such as a price change or restock.
• Camera: pin the camera tools you use most above the frame.
• Family: Setup Assistant lets you choose which apps kids can use, Ask to Browse lets you approve new websites in Safari that your child requests, and Communication Safety helps protect children from viewing or sharing images and videos containing detected nudity or gore.
• Image Playground and Genmoji: new image styles in Image Playground, and suggested Genmoji based on your photos and the phrases you type.
• Phone: Call Context can surface relevant information when you call a business, such as a confirmation code from Mail when you call an airline.
• FaceTime: Dual Capture shares front and back camera views, and translated captions appear when the other person speaks a different language.
• Home: Apple Intelligence combines related activity notifications, describes what happened in video footage before you watch and can search for a clip by what happened.
• Design and Home Screen: a Liquid Glass slider from ultraclear to fully tinted, and extra-large widgets.
• Accessibility: automatic synced subtitles and translated captions, and richer VoiceOver image descriptions.
• Health and Maps: menopause and perimenopause symptom logging in Cycle Tracking, Flyover views in Maps, and Local Lists (US only).

The Siri AI requirements

Siri AI is the feature most people are asking about, and it has stricter requirements than iOS 27 itself:

• Device: an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 16 model or later. Older iPhones can run iOS 27 but not Siri AI.
• Language: English to start, with Siri and the device language set to a supported language. Apple Intelligence supports Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese, but Siri AI itself starts in English. Apple’s launch announcement says French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish follow the next month.
• Region: Siri AI will not initially be available in the EU on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and Apple notes that some features may not be available in all regions or languages.
• Cost: free at launch, with daily usage limits on features that use server-side models. Apple says expanded access will cost a fee in the future.

For the full launch story, read our report on Siri AI in iOS 27, and to compare it with Amazon’s assistant, see Siri AI vs Alexa+.

How to update to iOS 27

Before you start, back up your iPhone. If it is on an older version of iOS, install that update first.

Update manually

1. Open Settings and tap General.
2. Tap Software Update.
3. If an update is available, tap Download and Install and follow the onscreen instructions.

If the update has already downloaded, open Settings, tap Update to iOS 27, then choose Update Now or Update Tonight.

Turn on automatic updates

1. Go to Settings, then General, then Software Update.
2. Tap Automatic Updates.
3. Choose Automatically Install (your iPhone downloads and installs updates overnight when it’s charging and connected to Wi-Fi, and notifies you first) or Automatically Download (it downloads updates over Wi-Fi while charging and locked, and you install when you choose). To see the download option, turn off Automatically Install first.

Turning Siri AI off or going back

Siri AI is optional. In Settings, tap Siri. If Siri is off, tap Turn On Siri, then Try Siri AI (Beta). If you would rather stay on the old assistant, tap Turn On Siri, then Use Siri Classic. To turn Siri off completely, tap Turn Off Siri. Our guide to turning off Siri has the details.