iOS 27: Faster, better child protection, new Siri for iPhone & iPad
The new operating systems are intended to speed up older iPhones and iPads. Apple claims to have finally improved child protection.
(Image: Apple)
Apple unveiled iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 at the WWDC developer conference on Monday. While the company primarily presented a new look with Liquid Glass last year, it is now making improvements in several areas: the focus is on performance, security, and AI.
Customized Display
Apple wants to improve the readability of Liquid Glass. Users can adjust the intensity of the frosted glass effect using a slider to suit their preferences. App icons have been adapted to appear sharper.
More Speed
The new operating system is said to feel faster across the board. For example, apps start up to 30 percent faster, Apple promises. This applies not only to its own apps but also to third-party ones. Photos load up to 70 percent faster after being taken, and data is transferred up to 80 percent faster via AirDrop.
Like the other operating systems, iOS receives a new internal search function with an index. This should significantly speed up searches via Spotlight as well as in Photos and Mail.
Thorough Child Protection
In collaboration with various child development experts and pediatricians, Apple aims to significantly improve the child protection features of its devices. To this end, Apple has significantly revised the previous “Screen Time” protection function.
Management is done through Apple's Family Sharing via the Apple account. Child accounts can be created there, which come with various content filters. Parents can use this to check, for example, which apps are installed or which websites can be viewed. Children can send requests to parents to unlock access to certain websites.
Kinderschutz in den neuen Systemen (7 Bilder)
Kinderaccount
Apple
)With “Communication Safety,” Apple aims to enable secure messaging. New contacts who are not in the child's address book must first be confirmed by parents before children can chat with them. This is intended to prevent grooming. The content filters in the Messages app also work more strictly: while previously they only hid sexual content and nudity, the filter now also intervenes in cases of depictions of violence.
In the future, parents will be able to set fixed times for children and adolescents to spend in front of the device. In “Screen Time Schedule,” times for social media, the web, or games can be set, for example. In addition, parents can specify which apps are allowed at certain times and which are not. The whole package is rounded off by recommendations for parents, which are said to come from experts in the fields of medicine and early childhood development. Apple has revised its information page for parents, which explains the functions.
New Siri AI App
Apple's artificial intelligence is coming to iPhone and iPad with its own app. While Siri has so far been a rather slow-witted voice assistant, Siri AI is intended to become more of a chatbot that understands and can do significantly more. The new version is deeply integrated into the system and can access personal context, search messages, emails, photos, and other data. Siri can answer questions about the display content and search for answers on the internet. A dedicated Siri app displays the history of older conversations. This is synchronized via iCloud with all of the user's devices.
The Camera app will receive a Siri mode. If you press the Siri button in the app, Visual Intelligence analyzes the subject. The major drawback in this region: The new Siri functions will not be available in the EU initially.
New Features in the Photos App
Apple has expanded the editing functions of the Photos app. While the Clean-Up tool previously delivered mixed results, it is now supposed to remove objects better using AI. With an Extend function, images can be expanded. New is the “Spatial Reframing” function: this allows the image section and perspective to be changed retrospectively using a 3D effect.
Other Functions
Apple's Photos app can now display photo albums shared with Windows or Android users. The Health app is being supplemented with functions that allow users to track their perimenopause and menopause, and there are also notifications about cycle irregularities. The AirPods receive a new settings menu where the sound can be adjusted via an equalizer.
Supported Devices
iOS 27 is also intended to feel performant on older devices. The new system will run on all devices that already support iOS 26. The minimum requirement is therefore an iPhone 11. For tablets, Apple requires an iPad ninth generation, an iPad Air 4, an iPad mini 6, or an iPad Pro with an M4 chip. For the most powerful local AI model, it must be an iPhone 17 Pro or an iPad with an M4 chip.
iOS 27 will be released as a free update in the fall; Apple usually releases the new version in September. Developers can install a first beta for testing starting Monday. The public beta is expected to be released in July.
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