After years of using Siri mainly to set timers and alarms, TechCrunch writer Ivan Mehta says iOS 27 has changed the assistant’s place in everyday use. According to his experience, the new release enables complex requests and makes use of content from the screen, files, messages, and email, instead of being limited to short, isolated commands.
Mehta tested the public beta on his primary device and had previously used the developer beta on another device. His assessment therefore reflects a personal user experience, not a comprehensive test of every device or scenario. Nevertheless, he believes the most important change is that he has started looking for new uses for Siri instead of avoiding it—an indication that the perceived capabilities of the assistant have changed after a long period of delays.
An Assistant That Understands Context and Performs More Than One Step
According to the article, the new Siri provides answers about sports topics such as World Cup matches, team lineups, and results, with some stumbling recorded in early developer releases before most answers were correct in the writer’s experience. The assistant was also able to collect small or unclear features in iOS 27 and add them to a note, as well as compose a message and send it to another person.
Access to the context of files, messages, and email makes it possible to search for a conversation, such as correspondence related to a delivery, and then prepare a message specifically requesting a return. Understanding on-screen content allows users to ask questions about what is displayed, have the text on screen read aloud, or request information about a startup and its competitors while visiting its website.
The writer also notes that Siri can add search results to a specific note, such as saving the names of coffee roasters and coffees found while browsing Reddit. However, he had difficulty directing the results to the correct note, and reliability improved only after simplifying the note’s name. These details show that the benefit is real, but relying on it is still affected by how the request is phrased and by the structure of the content the user is working with.
The Camera and the Dedicated App
The camera now has direct access to Siri, allowing users to ask questions about objects visible through the camera lens. The writer tried to identify a drink at an Indian restaurant; Siri initially suggested that it was green juice, then narrowed the possibilities to Jaljeera or Aam Panna after the restaurant context was added, and the second answer turned out to be correct. He also used a photo of the restaurant’s sign to request suggestions from the menu, and a photo of a bag of coffee to ask about the best way to prepare it.
Siri AI also gets a dedicated app that allows users to return to previous conversations, with options to change the voice and degree of expressiveness from Settings. Apple has also designed the assistant to work with third-party apps, but the smoothness of the transition between Siri and those apps will depend on how developers update their apps after the system is released.
Apple Intelligence Goes Beyond the Voice Assistant
The change is not limited to Siri. Apple Intelligence offers a tool for creating shortcuts and automations in natural language: users can describe a task such as displaying a list of the day’s tasks every morning or converting an image to JPEG, then add subsequent steps such as sharing the photos through AirDrop. The writer used this capability to create a shortcut that identifies a song through Shazam and saves its name and where it was heard.
Other tools include custom alerts in Safari to monitor changes to web pages, such as blogs, prices, and privacy policies; tools in Photos for reframing and expanding images; and an improved object eraser, although the results of some tools are not always good. Apple Intelligence can also suggest adding event and location information received in messages to Calendar or Notes, and the Passwords feature can automatically change passwords on the user’s behalf by signing in to the website.
Small Improvements with a Practical Impact
Among the features the writer praised most was the new clipboard function, which makes it easier to move links, images, videos, and text between apps through a button that appears on the keyboard. The system also allows users to adjust the transparency of the Liquid Glass interface precisely and automatically switch from Wi-Fi to cellular data when a problem occurs with the wireless connection.
iOS 27 also focuses on child safety through an initial setup that suggests essential apps, schedules and different usage limits depending on the days of the week, and notifications for parents when new websites are visited, with the option to approve them remotely. The system also displays a warning when children are exposed to nudity in Messages, FaceTime, and other apps.
What Has Actually Changed?
The writer’s conclusion is not that iOS 27 contains the largest number of standout features, but that Siri has become closer to a tool users can turn to before opening ChatGPT or Gemini, even for those who do not rely heavily on Messages and Mail. This remains an experimental conclusion tied to his personal use, especially since some Siri capabilities and integration with third-party apps will be affected by developer support and the accuracy of context understanding.
iOS 27 is available for iPhone 11 and later, and for the second-generation iPhone SE and later. It can be downloaded through Settings > General > Software Update.