Full list of what's new in iOS 27 and more
As announced at WWDC 2026
Apple is almost as famous for what it doesn’t announce as what it does.
At the end of many WWDC presentations, Apple flashes a screen packed with additional features and enhancements, often for just a few seconds. The company doesn’t discuss all of these items on stage, leaving developers, reporters, and eagle-eyed viewers to figure out what they mean.
This year was no different.
Apple displayed the word cloud below for only a moment, but it was enough time for people to start digging through the details and uncovering some of the smaller additions coming to iOS 27 and Apple’s other software updates.
Here’s what I found among the features Apple has publicly announced. I’ve filtered out the highly technical developer-focused items and focused on the changes that are most relevant to everyday users.
1. iOS 27 (iPhone)
Customization, Interface & System Design
Customizable Liquid Glass: A new slider in Settings allows users to adjust the transparency and translucent effects of the “Liquid Glass” system interface from ultra-clear to fully tinted.
Updated App Icons: App icons feature extra visual depth, detail, and sharpness across light, dark, tinted, or all-clear themes.
Smoother Paging & Scrolling: Swiping between Home Screen pages, paging through App Library, and scrolling through Control Center and the Control Gallery are noticeably smoother and more fluid.
Extra-Large Widgets on Home Screen: Users can now dedicate an entire Home Screen page to a single, extra-large widget for apps like Calendar, Photos, and Music.
Real-Time Widget Updates: Widgets on the Home Screen now update in real-time while their corresponding app is active, keeping data fresh at a glance.
Persistent Lock Screen Notification Awakening: The Lock Screen remains awake consistently while scrolling through incoming notifications, preventing frustrating display timeouts.
Landscape Live Activities in Dynamic Island: Live Activities now seamlessly adapt and format when the iPhone is used in landscape orientation.
Performance, Battery & Connectivity
Optimized CPU Scheduler (Legacy Support): The system’s computational resource manager has been optimized for high-intensity tasks to provide a “snappier” feeling. This optimization extends all the way back to the iPhone 11, giving older devices a performance boost.
Up to 30% Faster App Launches: iOS preloads key application data prior to opening, launching apps up to 30% faster.
Up to 80% Faster AirDrop Transfers: Files and photos share significantly faster over AirDrop, alongside faster recipient discovery and speedier AirDrop recipient suggestions.
Faster Lock Screen Switching: Switching between different customized Lock Screens is immediate and responsive.
Faster Keyboard Loading: Both emoji and sticker keyboards load faster to prevent typing lag.
Wi-Fi and Cellular Connection Transitions: The iPhone is smarter about when to hand off from Wi-Fi to cellular (and vice versa) so FaceTime calls and navigation routing do not drop when leaving the house or office.
Personal Hotspot Power Efficiency: Personal Hotspot has been optimized to consume less battery on connected devices.
Faster NFC Reading: Near Field Communication (NFC) processing is faster and more reliable.
Camera & Photos
Faster Camera Launch in Low Power Mode: Launching the Camera app while Low Power Mode is enabled is optimized so users don’t miss capturing unexpected moments.
Camera Battery Efficiency in Low Power Mode: The camera system uses less overall power when taking photos in Low Power Mode.
Easier-to-Reach Camera Controls: Key camera shortcuts and options are placed more ergonomically for single-handed use.
All Options in Camera Settings: Camera Settings now displays a complete list of shooting shortcuts and pro options in one centralized, customizable menu.
Smoother Zoom Switching: Transitions between lenses when zooming during video capture are seamless and fluid.
Up to 70% Faster Photo Library Loading: Snapped photos and video captures render up to 70% faster in the Photos library immediately after capture.
Save Video Frame as Photo: Users can save any frame from a video directly as a full-resolution photo with a single tap, eliminating the need for manual screenshots.
Star Ratings in Photos: Users can rate photos and videos with 1 to 5 stars to easily filter, sort, and organize their library.
Captured by Me Collection: A dedicated library filter displays only photos and videos captured on the current device (and previous devices using the same account).
Customize and Save Slideshows: Play any set of photos and videos as a slideshow with custom transitions, music, and slide durations, and save the slideshow as a video file.
Option to Prioritize Syncing immediately to iCloud: Users can temporarily prioritize syncing new captures to iCloud over battery life or system performance for 24 hours.
Metadata Selection View: A quick review panel allows users to modify location, keywords, and other metadata across multiple selected photos at once.
Choose Specific Pets for Photo Shuffle: Users can select individual pets to display on their Lock Screen or widget rotating galleries.
Messages & FaceTime
Continuous Media Sending: Sending massive photos or videos in low-bandwidth situations no longer blocks subsequent text messages from going through. A new progress indicator displays beside each outgoing media file.
Consolidated Tapback Notifications: Multiple Tapbacks on a single message in group chats are coalesced into a single summary (e.g., “John and 2 others loved your message”) to prevent notification clutter.
Failed Messages Auto-Retry: Messages that fail to deliver automatically attempt to resend in the background when connectivity is restored.
Drawing App Integration: A new built-in drawing utility allows users to sketch and send doodles directly inside Messages.
Dual Capture in FaceTime: Users can stream both their front and rear cameras simultaneously during one-on-one FaceTime calls, allowing them to share their surroundings while remaining face-to-face.
Improved FaceTime Low-Bandwidth Quality: Video call quality is optimized to remain clear even on poor network connections.
Phone, System Utilities & Shortcuts
Independent Alarm Volume: Users can adjust alarm volumes independently of the overall system ringer volume.
Switch Between Two iPhones on One Number: Seamlessly toggle active mobile phone connectivity between two different physical iPhones sharing the same phone number.
Easier Account Recovery: Simplifies how users access recovery codes and set up recovery contacts to prevent locked-out Apple Accounts.
Shortcuts Natural Language Assembly: Users can describe the automation they want in natural language, and Shortcuts will automatically assemble the necessary steps.
CarPlay
Audio MiniPlayer: A new compact MiniPlayer in CarPlay allows users to control music or podcasts without leaving the primary navigation screen.
Improved Navigation and GPS: Upgrades heading and GPS tracking to prevent wrong-turn routing, specifically in high-density downtown cities.
CarPlay Audio Scrubbing: Allows direct, precise scrubbing through music tracks and podcast episodes on the dashboard.
Proactive Car Key Setup: Wallet automatically prompts users to configure and pair digital car keys when compatible vehicles are detected.
Improved Wireless CarPlay Reliability: Enhances the connection handshake to prevent sudden disconnections in high-interference areas.
2. iPadOS 27
iPhone App Resizing on iPad: When mirroring or running iPhone apps on iPad, users can fluidly resize the application window to fit their screen workflow.
Undo and Redo Home Screen Edits: If you accidentally move a widget or app icon on your iPad Home Screen, you can easily undo or redo the layout change.
Optional Persistent Menu Bar: Users can choose to keep the menu bar permanently visible at the top of the iPad screen for desktop-like app navigation.
Extra-Large Widgets in Today View: iPad’s side-docked Today View now supports extra-large widgets to present more information on the larger display.
Faster Window Switching & Closing: Switching between active app windows or closing them in Stage Manager is faster and features snappier animations.
Scribble Support for Hindi & Marathi: Users can write with the Apple Pencil in Hindi and Marathi, which is automatically converted into typed text.
App Names in Status Bar: The iPad status bar can display the name of the active foreground app for clearer workspace context.
News+ Audio Support: Audio versions of articles and news briefs are now supported natively on iPad.
3. macOS 27 (Tahoe)
Control Center Access in iPhone Mirroring: Users can access the mirrored iPhone’s Control Center directly from their Mac screen to toggle settings.
DRM Video Support in iPhone Mirroring: Protected media stream playback (such as streaming apps) is now supported in iPhone Mirroring without showing black screens.
App Resizing in iPhone Mirroring: Mirrored iPhone applications can be resized to a wider variety of desktop scales on the Mac.
More Distinct Active Windows: Active application windows have more prominent shadows and outlines, making it easier to tell which window has focus.
Option-Click to Secondary Sort: In Finder, users can option-click columns to define a secondary sorting rule (e.g., sort by Date, then sort by Name).
Ethernet Status in Menu Bar: A dedicated Ethernet connectivity icon can be displayed in the macOS menu bar to quickly monitor wired connections.
Safari Start Page Resizing: Resizing Safari’s window scales the start page and its widgets smoothly without layout snapping.
Safari Smoother Scrolling: Webpage scrolling on Mac is optimized for higher-frequency displays, delivering a smoother visual experience.
Freeform Board Drawing: Drawing and sketching tools in Freeform are optimized for Mac trackpads and drawing tablets.
Show Borders Accessibility Option: A new visual accessibility setting draws distinct borders around all interactive on-screen elements and buttons.
4. watchOS 27
Consolidated Find My App: Apple Watch unifies the separate “Find People,” “Find Devices,” and “Find Items” utilities into a single, map-centric Find My app.
Smart Stack Transit Cards & IDs: Digital transit passes and membership IDs are dynamically pinned to the Apple Watch Smart Stack when arriving at a station or gym.
Maps Parked Car Widget: A dedicated widget automatically appears in the Smart Stack to guide users back to their vehicle.
New Smart Stack Suggestions: Apple Intelligence suggests context-relevant widgets in the Smart Stack based on time of day, location, and routine.
One-Wrist Flick Gesture: A simple one-handed wrist flick gesture allows users to quickly dismiss incoming notifications without touching the screen.
Dynamic App Grid: The app library grid dynamically resizes based on frequently used apps, placing them within easier tap reach.
Consolidated Find My Precision Finding: Watch users can utilize Precision Finding on-wrist to track down paired iPhones, 2nd-gen AirTags, or AirPods.
More Accurate Step & Workout Distance Tracking: Refines sensors for more accurate walking step counts and treadmill workout distance measurements.
Better Battery and Wi-Fi Efficiency: Optimizes background data queries to extend Apple Watch daily battery life, alongside faster Wi-Fi connection times.
Guest Key Support: Allows Apple Watch users to share temporary, secure home or lock keys with visitors.
5. tvOS 27
Larger Font Sizes Accessibility: Includes native support for larger text sizes across the tvOS interface to improve legibility from across the living room.
More Responsive Control Center: Accessing the Apple TV Control Center is faster, with more intuitive layouts for user switching.
Redesigned Podcasts App with Video: The tvOS Podcasts app has been completely redesigned with video podcast playback, a clean sidebar menu, and creator artwork.
Smart Downloads on Apple TV: Apple TV intelligently pre-downloads upcoming episodes of watched shows during off-peak hours to prevent streaming buffer lags.
Apple TV Profile Auto-Display: tvOS can automatically prompt profile selection when waking up, immediately loading a user’s custom watchlist and Apple Music playlists.
AirPlay Connection Speed: Handing off audio or video from an iPhone to an Apple TV or HomePod happens faster.
Apple Music Sing Microphone Handoff: Users can use their iPhone as a physical handheld microphone for Apple TV, amplifying their voice through connected speakers.
6. visionOS 27
Mac Virtual Display Widget: A floating widget can be positioned in spatial environments to immediately wake up and mirror a Mac screen.
Multiple Safari Tab Views: Multiple separate Safari browser windows and tab arrays can be positioned side-by-side in spatial surroundings.
Look & Tap Notification Responses: Users can simply look directly at a notification banner and tap their fingers to instantly view and reply.
Panoramas for Environments: Panoramic photos can be converted into fully immersive spatial Environments with curvature and depth.
Curved App Windows: visionOS app windows can feature subtle curvature adjustments to feel more natural and visually comfortable.
Extra-Small Widget Option: Promotes space-saving layout efficiency with a new extra-small widget scale for spatial displays.
Enhanced Persona Details: Enhances digital Personas with striking improvements to hair, complexion, and eyelashes.
7. Apple Services & Ecosystem
Apple Maps
Enhanced Flyover: Combines high-resolution aerial photography with AI to render hundreds of select cities around the world in lifelike, 3D detail.
Local Lists: Surfaces curated lists of trending restaurants, coffee shops, and places to take kids, entirely compiled with user privacy in mind.
Natural Language Routing Search: Allows users to describe where they want to go in conversational language (e.g., “Find a quiet coffee shop on the way”) and generates optimized route waypoints.
Apple Wallet & Apple Pay
Visual Intelligence Bill Splitting: Settle up after dining by scanning a physical receipt with the iPhone Camera or taking a screenshot. Siri identifies individual items on the bill, calculates taxes and tips, and allows users to pay their exact share instantly with Apple Cash.
Easy Card Swiping & Balances: A redesigned Apple Pay checkout interface allows users to swipe easily to switch cards and view points, rewards, or account balances.
Physical Pass Integration: Users can point their camera at any physical membership, barcode, or loyalty card to instantly digitize and save it into Apple Wallet.
Apple Music & Podcasts
AutoMix Immersive Transitions: Apple Music’s AutoMix features enhanced, professional-grade transition effects between songs, and expands to HomePod and tvOS.
Lyrics Translation & Pronunciation: Translates song lyrics across seven language pairs (preserving cultural nuance) and expands Romanized pronunciation guides so users can sing along to foreign tracks.
Search Within Shows: Search bar queries inside Apple Podcasts can search specifically within the “All Episodes” view of a single show to find exact episodes faster.
iCloud & Shared Albums
Full-Resolution Shared Albums: iCloud Shared Albums support full-resolution photo and video uploads without downgrading file quality.
Android and Windows Collaboration: Friends and family without Apple devices can view, react to, and upload their own photos to Shared Albums via iCloud.com.
Temporary Expirable Albums: Shared albums can be set to automatically expire and delete after 30 days, keeping temporary event photos from permanently cluttering album lists.
Health, Fitness & Family
Perimenopause and Menopause Support: Cycle Tracking in the Health app can notify users if logged cycle deviations are suggestive of perimenopause (for users aged 40+). It includes educational resources and symptom logging (e.g., hot flashes).
Strong Through Menopause Fitness+ Program: A progressive three-week Fitness+ course featuring Yoga and Strength training designed to manage stress, build strength, and improve balance.
GymKit on iPhone: Users can pair their iPhone directly with compatible treadmills, bikes, and gym equipment with a single tap to sync calories, speed, and distance without wearing an Apple Watch.