Apple releases iOS 27 with Siri AI overhaul

Apple has released iOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27, with the biggest spotlight on a long-awaited overhaul of Siri. The new AI-powered assistant is arriving first as a beta, initially limited to English-speaking users. Apple had delayed the upgrade, but the company is now presenting it as a major step forward for its mobile AI strategy. The revamped Siri is designed to hold more natural conversations, understand context better, and work more deeply inside apps. It can handle multi-step requests rather than simple one-line commands, and it is meant to remember context across interactions. That could make Siri feel less like a voice command tool and more like an assistant that can follow a task through several stages. For example, users may be able to ask Siri to find information, act on it in an app, and then continue with related requests without repeating details. The update touches Apple's major platforms, which means the assistant experience is intended to extend across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. The launch also puts Apple in more direct competition with Google Assistant and ChatGPT, both of which have set high expectations for conversational AI. Apple's advantage is its tight integration with hardware and software, plus a focus on privacy. Its challenge is proving that Siri can match rivals in reliability, reasoning, and usefulness. The beta label suggests Apple is being cautious, likely gathering feedback before a wider rollout. Even so, iOS 27 marks Apple's most aggressive AI push on mobile devices so far, and the success of the Siri overhaul will shape how users judge the company's broader AI ambitions.