Apps & Consumer
iOS 27's smarter Siri finally makes a longtime skeptic use it again
A TechCrunch reviewer who had mostly given up on Siri says iOS 27's overhauled assistant, built on Google's Gemini models, has changed that — while other quality-of-life features round out the update.
For years, one TechCrunch reviewer barely used Siri beyond menial tasks like setting timers or alarms. That’s changed with iOS 27, built on the back of Google’s Gemini models, which the reviewer says is “much smarter” than the previous version — built on extended knowledge and what they call a “shaky ChatGPT integration” — after using it on a main device since the public beta and on another device through the developer beta before that.
The reviewer tested Siri on sports questions, from World Cup matches to team lineups and scores, and found most information correct despite some hiccups in earlier developer versions. Siri can handle complex, multistep directions — asked to find small or hidden useful features in iOS 27 and add them to a note, it did so well — and can draft and send messages, or look up a past conversation, such as one about a delivery, to draft a return message. On-screen context proved useful too: the reviewer could ask trivial questions like who was the oldest player on the pitch while viewing World Cup lineups, have on-screen text read aloud, or ask Siri to look up a startup’s funding information and competitors while browsing its website. One favorite use case was asking Siri to add coffee-roaster recommendations found while browsing Reddit to a specific note, though getting Siri to file items into the right note took some trial and error.
The Camera app now supports Siri queries about what’s visible in the viewfinder — asked about a drink at a restaurant, Siri correctly guessed “green juice” based on color, and after being told the setting was an Indian restaurant, correctly narrowed it to Jaljeera or Aam Panna (it was the latter). Siri can also suggest menu items from a photographed restaurant sign or brewing instructions from a photographed coffee bag. iOS 27 gives Siri AI a dedicated app for returning to previous chats, with settings to change its voice and expressiveness, and positions it to work with third-party apps as developers update for the new handoff.
Apple Intelligence also powers vibe-coding features, including a Shortcuts creation tool that builds automations from natural-language descriptions, which the reviewer used to create a shortcut that Shazams a song and saves the track and location. Other additions include Safari page-change alerts for pricing or privacy-policy tracking, Photos “reframe” and “extend” tools the reviewer found inconsistent, an improved eraser with fewer artifacts, smart calendar/notes suggestions from messages, and a Passwords app that can automatically change passwords on a user’s behalf. Quality-of-life improvements the reviewer singled out include a universal clipboard for pasting links, photos, videos, and text across apps; adjustable, granular Liquid Glass transparency; automatic Wi-Fi-to-mobile-data switching; and an expanded child-safety flow with scheduling, remote approval of new sites, and warnings for nudity exposure in Messages and FaceTime. iOS 27 is rolling out to all users with iPhone 11 or later and iPhone SE (second generation) or later.
Why it matters
A reviewer who had written Siri off finding it newly indispensable suggests Apple’s years-long, delay-plagued push to rebuild the assistant — reportedly with help from Google’s models — may finally be closing the usability gap with ChatGPT and Gemini for everyday tasks.