All the new iOS 27 features you should know about

While the announcements of Apple’s new Siri AI and Apple Intelligence dominated the spotlight at WWDC earlier this month, the tech giant also filled iOS 27 with a number of improvements across everyday apps and services, including smart bill splitting in Apple Wallet, new ways to share locations in Find My, and improved Apple Maps features.

Apple Maps

Apple has introduced improvements to “Flyover,” a feature that provides immersive 3D views of cities and landmarks. The feature has been updated with more detailed graphics and smoother navigation.

The company also introduced “Location Lists,” a new way for users to find and save recommendations for restaurants, attractions, and other places within Maps by seeing what’s trending. This could be Apple’s way of persuading users to stop using third-party apps for local exploration, such as Google Maps or Instagram and TikTok.

Find My

Find My is now more flexible with new location sharing controls. Starting this fall, users will be able to share their location for a custom amount of time, whether that’s a few minutes, a few hours, multiple days, or up to a specific date and time.

Apple is also adding the ability to temporarily pause location sharing with individual contacts until the end of the day. Variations are made for different situations, such as keeping a birthday party private.

Apple Wallet

Apple Wallet is getting a significant upgrade. One of the standout additions allows users to scan receipts using their iPhone camera and automatically split bills with friends using Apple Cash. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the feature can identify individual items on a receipt, calculate each person’s share of tax and tips, and facilitate payments via Messages or Wallet.

Wallet also gets support for digitizing physical membership and loyalty cards. Users can simply point their iPhone camera at a barcode or scan a digital card to save directly to Wallet. Support extends to the Apple Watch, so passes can also be pinned to the Apple Watch Smart Stack for quick retrieval.

Travelers will benefit from enhanced hotel key experiences. In addition to unlocking rooms and amenities with an iPhone or Apple Watch, guests staying at participating hotels and resorts will be able to access travel information, work schedules, service information, and real-time updates directly within Wallet.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is getting a redesigned online and in-app checkout experience. Users will be able to swipe between payment cards easily while viewing information such as rewards balances, debit account balances, and available pay later options. Later this year, Apple says users will also be able to add money directly to eligible debit cards through Wallet or during Apple Pay checkout.

For retailers, Apple is expanding “Tap to Pay” on the iPhone with a new feature called “Tap to Share.” Customers can communicate directly with participating merchants using a simple tap to securely share information such as loyalty accounts, shipping addresses, and contact information.

Apple Music

Apple Music is expanding the “Lyrics Translation” feature to support seven additional language pairs, including English translations of French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, and Japanese songs. “Lyrics Pronunciation” will now help users sing along to songs in languages ​​they may not speak by showing phonetic translations of the words in five new language pairs.

The “AutoMix” feature, which automatically creates smooth transitions between songs, is enhanced for more immersive mixes and extends beyond iPhone to Apple TV and HomePod. Apple Music subscribers also get access to Hi-Res Lossless Audio on Apple TV 4K, allowing users with compatible audio systems to experience studio-quality sound through tvOS.

Apple Podcasts

Podcast listeners get a few welcome upgrades. A new “search within a show” feature allows users to directly search for podcast episodes across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the web. Apple is also bringing video podcasts to both Mac and Apple TV, reflecting the growing popularity of video-first podcasting.

Albums Shared with iCloud

Apple introduces full-resolution photo sharing, support for additional file types, emoji reactions, improved activity feeds, and the ability to view activity on a per-album basis. Also, new temporary albums are designed for short-term projects and events, allowing groups to collaborate without permanently taking up iCloud storage.

Notably, people without Apple devices will also be able to donate photos over the web.

Eligibility+

Fitness+ presents “Strong Through Menopause,” a three-week program featuring guided yoga and strength workouts designed to help people navigating perimenopause and menopause build strength, improve mobility and balance, and manage stress. Apple also added a new “Time to Go” episode featuring actress Busy Philipps, who shares personal stories about her experiences with menopause.

All of these features are available for developers to test right now through Apple’s Developer Program, with a public beta coming next month.