Apple is preparing a sweeping overhaul of Siri for iOS 27, replacing its current interface with a large language model-powered assistant that works more like ChatGPT than the Siri people have tolerated for years, alongside a fully customisable Camera app and three new AI editing tools for Photos, according to reporting by Bloomberg published on 12 May 2026.
The iOS 27 preview is expected at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which opens on 8 June 2026. Apple has been watching the gap between its own AI capabilities and competitors for a while now, and the Siri redesign in iOS 27 looks like the moment it actually tries to close it rather than paper over it.
What is actually changing with Siri
The redesigned Siri would ditch the current voice command model in favour of a chatbot-style interface. Users would see a “Search or Ask” prompt tied to the Dynamic Island, and the assistant would be capable of handling multi-step requests in a single command.
That last part matters: the current Siri requires you to break tasks into individual steps because it cannot hold context across a request. The new version, according to Bloomberg‘s sources, would handle the whole thing in one go.
Apple is also reportedly building a standalone Siri app, and one new Camera mode worth noting is a Siri-powered option that integrates Apple’s Visual Intelligence tools directly into the shooting experience.
In practice, that means Siri could identify objects in your frame, translate on-screen text, or pull contextual information from whatever the camera is pointed at, without leaving the Camera app.
The camera customisation and Photos AI tools
The Camera app changes are more mundane but arguably more immediately useful. Users would be able to configure which controls appear in the shooting interface, choosing from flash, exposure, timer, depth of field, photo styles and resolution.
The current Camera app does not allow any of this. You get what you get.
Photos is also getting three new AI editing tools. Extend generates additional image content beyond the edges of the original frame, effectively expanding the shot. Enhance applies automatic colour and lighting corrections.
Reframe, designed primarily for spatial photos, allows the user to shift the perspective after the fact. These sit alongside existing tools and do not replace them.
How iOS 27 fits the bigger picture
The September release will also need to accommodate the iPhone Fold, Apple’s first foldable phone, which will introduce split-screen multitasking to iPhone for the first time. Beyond that, Bloomberg‘s sources and subsequent reporting from 9to5Mac describe iOS 27 as a performance-focused release, with Apple reportedly clearing accumulated technical debt and removing legacy code in the manner of the 2009 macOS Snow Leopard update.
That framing is worth understanding. Snow Leopard did not add major features. It made everything faster and more stable, and was considered one of Apple’s best releases precisely because of that restraint. If iOS 27 delivers the Siri overhaul alongside a genuine performance lift, it could be the update that makes Apple Intelligence feel like it was worth the wait, as reported by 9to5Mac.
WWDC on 8 June 2026 will confirm what is real and what stays rumour.
