With iOS 27, I’m actually using Siri again

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For years, I barely used Siri for anything beyond menial tasks like setting timers or alarms. That has changed with iOS 27, as I now go back to Siri for complex requests and to make sense of on-screen context again and again.

While Siri is clearly front and center in this software update by Apple, I also enjoy many of the other quality-of-life updates.

I have been using iOS 27 on my main device since the public beta version was released, and on another device through the developer beta before that. I have really enjoyed using the new Siri, often trying to find new use cases for it — and that’s possibly the biggest win for Apple, given that I, like many people, had given up on Siri befor this update.

Over two years ago, Apple introduced Apple Intelligence and teased an advanced version of Siri . And after multiple delays , the company is finally shipping it, and it doesn’t disappoint. Built on the back of Google’s Gemini models, Siri is much smarter than its previous version that was built on extended knowledge and a shaky ChatGPT integration. It also has a new logo and transition animation.

For starters, I asked Siri about several different things in the area of sports, ranging from World Cup matches to team lineups and scores. There were some hiccups in the earlier developer versions, but most of the information was correct. Siri can also take complex, multi-step directions. For instance, I asked it to find small or hidden and useful features for iOS 27 and add them to a note, and it did a good job of that.

And because Siri can fetch context from your files, messages, and email, you can also ask it to look up a conversation, like one related to a delivery, and have it create a message for returns.

Siri’s on-screen context was a big blessing, too. I could ask trivial questions like the oldest player on the pitch when I was looking at line-ups for two teams in the World Cup, or have it read the text on screen out loud when I didn’t want to read. When I was looking at a startup’s website, I could ask Siri to look up its funding information and competitors.

One of my favorite use cases was surfing around coffee Reddit for new roasters and beans, and asking Siri to add it to a specific note. I did face a few difficulties in getting Siri to add it to the right note, but eventually I dumbed down the note’s name for better consistency.

The Camera app also now has Siri access, which means you can ask questions about things that are visible in your viewfinder. When I was at a restaurant, I asked Siri what drink I was holding. Because of the color of the drink, it said This is green juice, which is a good first visual assumption. When I specified that I was at an Indian restaurant, it correctly said this could be Jaljeera or Aam Panna. (It was the latter).

I also took a photo of the restaurant’s sign and asked Siri to suggest the best items from its menu.