iOS 27 release date: When is it coming to your iPhone — and what's new?

Your iPhone is about to get a major software update.

Apple will release iOS 27 on Monday, September 14, bringing new features and performance improvements to compatible iPhones, including older devices.

The free update follows Apple’s September launch event, where it unveiled its latest iPhones.

But what will actually change on the iPhone you already own? Here are the biggest iOS 27 features you should know about.

Apple says iOS 27 will be available from September 14, including for users in the UAE.

Once the update becomes available, go to:

Settings > General > Software Update

As with any major operating-system update, it's advisable to back up important data before installation.

Perhaps the most useful improvement isn’t a flashy new feature.

Apple says apps can launch up to 30 per cent faster, while photos can load up to 70 per cent faster after they’re taken.

AirDrop transfers can also be up to 80 per cent faster, Apple says.

The company has worked on memory use, CPU utilisation, display rendering and search, meaning everyday iPhone use should feel quicker.

One of Apple’s biggest iOS 27 features is Siri AI, a major overhaul designed to make the assistant better at understanding natural conversations and personal context.

Users will eventually be able to ask Siri questions involving information across their apps without manually finding it first.

But there’s an important catch.

The full Siri AI experience won’t arrive with iOS 27 on September 14.

Apple says Siri AI will initially arrive in English beta later this year, with additional languages following.

It will also require a compatible Apple Intelligence device.

Apple is adding more AI-powered editing tools to Photos.

A new Spatial Reframing feature can intelligently recompose images, while improvements to Clean Up make it easier to remove unwanted objects from photographs.

Some advanced features require an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone.

Apple is also bringing Siri directly into the camera experience.

With Siri mode in Camera, users can point their iPhone at something and ask for information about what they’re seeing.

It expands Apple’s Visual Intelligence tools and effectively turns the camera into another way to search and ask questions.

The Liquid Glass design introduced with iOS 26 isn’t disappearing.

Instead, Apple is giving users more control.

iOS 27 includes an opacity adjustment, allowing users to choose between clearer and more frosted interface effects.

Apple has also refined icons in several built-in apps.

iOS 27 adds extra-large widgets, allowing more information to appear directly on the Home Screen.

Users also get additional Lock Screen customisation, including greater control over the clock’s size.

They’re relatively small changes, but useful for anyone who likes personalising how their iPhone looks.

Here’s one of the less glamorous upgrades that could prove surprisingly useful.

iOS 27 provides more individual control over ringtones, alarms, timers, alerts and system sounds.

That should make it easier, for example, to keep an alarm loud without making every other notification equally loud.

Apple is expanding its child-safety and parental-control features.

The company says parents will have more ways to approve requests, manage age-appropriate experiences and protect younger users from potentially inappropriate content.

The changes form part of Apple’s broader push to give families greater control over children’s devices.

Apple says iOS 27 supports the same iPhones as iOS 26, extending back to the iPhone 11 generation and second-generation iPhone SE.

But there’s an important difference between getting iOS 27 and getting every iOS 27 feature.

Apple Intelligence features require newer hardware, including the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and the iPhone 16 generation or later.

Older supported iPhones will still receive many of iOS 27’s performance, interface and everyday improvements.

So if you’re waiting for the update, mark September 14.

Just remember: iOS 27 arrives that day, but some of Apple’s most anticipated AI features will follow later.