Apple's Gemini-powered Siri in iOS 27 wins back a TechCrunch reviewer

For years, a TechCrunch reviewer barely used Siri beyond setting timers and alarms. That changed with iOS 27: the assistant is now used for complex, multistep requests and for making sense of on-screen context. The reviewer, who used the public beta on a main device and an earlier developer beta on a second one, credits the shift to a rebuilt Siri running on Google's Gemini models, replacing a previous version built on Apple's own extended knowledge and what the reviewer calls a shaky ChatGPT integration. Apple introduced Apple Intelligence and teased this advanced Siri more than two years earlier and, after repeated delays, has now shipped it, along with a new Siri logo and transition animation.

The review walks through several use cases. Siri answered sports questions, ranging from World Cup matches to team lineups and scores, with some hiccups in earlier developer builds that mostly cleared up by the public beta. It handled multistep instructions, such as finding hidden or useful iOS 27 features and adding them to a note, and it can draft and send messages. Because Siri can pull context from files, messages and email, the reviewer used it to look up a delivery-related conversation and draft a return message from it. On-screen context let the reviewer ask trivial questions, such as who was the oldest player on the pitch while viewing World Cup lineups, have text read aloud, or ask Siri to look up a startup's funding and competitors while viewing its website. Adding items to a note while browsing for coffee recommendations caused some early trouble getting Siri to file them into the right note, which the reviewer fixed by simplifying the note's name.

The Camera app now has Siri access, so users can ask about what is visible in the viewfinder. At a restaurant, the reviewer asked Siri what drink they were holding; based on its color, Siri said, "This is green juice," as a first guess, then correctly narrowed it to Jaljeera or Aam Panna once told the restaurant was Indian (it was Aam Panna). The reviewer also photographed a restaurant sign to ask for menu recommendations and a coffee bag to ask for the best way to brew it. Siri AI now has a dedicated app for returning to past conversations, and Settings lets users change its voice and expressiveness. The new assistant is positioned to work with third-party apps as developers update them, though the reviewer says it remains to be seen whether that handoff is smooth.

Apple Intelligence adds features beyond Siri. A Shortcuts creation tool lets users describe automations in natural language, such as a daily to-do reminder or a photo-to-JPEG conversion, then extend them with more steps afterward, like converting selected photos and sharing them by AirDrop; the reviewer used it to build a shortcut that Shazams a song and logs the track and location. Safari can now create custom alerts to track changes to a page, such as a blog, item pricing or a privacy policy. The Photos app gained "reframe" and "extend" tools that the reviewer says do not always work well but can improve some images, plus an improved eraser that leaves fewer artifacts. Smart suggestions offer to add event or location details from messages to Calendar or Notes, and the Passwords app can automatically change a password on the user's behalf by logging into a site.

Other quality-of-life changes include a universal clipboard that lets users paste links, photos, videos and text between apps, with a keyboard shortcut button such as "paste from Safari"; granular, adjustable transparency for Liquid Glass instead of fixed presets; and intelligent network switching that automatically moves the connection from Wi-Fi to mobile data when the wireless connection has issues. Child safety gets a new setup flow that recommends essential apps, lets parents set schedules, time limits and allowances by day, notifies parents when children access new websites and lets them approve access remotely, and shows a warning when children are exposed to nudity in Messages, FaceTime and other apps.

iOS 27 is rolling out to all users with iPhone 11 or later and iPhone SE (second generation) or later, available through Settings > General > Software Update.

Key facts

Siri in iOS 27 is rebuilt on Google's Gemini models, replacing the prior version's extended knowledge plus a shaky ChatGPT integration.
The Camera app now lets users ask Siri about what's in the viewfinder; it guessed a drink was green juice by color, then correctly narrowed it to Jaljeera or Aam Panna once told the restaurant was Indian.
Apple Intelligence adds natural-language Shortcuts creation, Safari page-change alerts, improved Photos tools, and a Passwords app that can auto-change passwords by logging into a site.
New child-safety controls let parents set schedules, time limits and allowances by day, get notified of new websites accessed, and see a warning when children are exposed to nudity in Messages, FaceTime and other apps.
iOS 27 is rolling out to all users with iPhone 11 or later and iPhone SE (second generation) or later, via Settings > General > Software Update.

Why it matters

More than two years after Apple teased an advanced Siri alongside Apple Intelligence, and after multiple delays, the Gemini-powered rebuild has, in this reviewer's account, turned Siri from a timer-and-alarm tool into something used for complex, multistep requests and on-screen context. That is a reversal for an assistant many users, including this reviewer, had written off, and it underlines Apple leaning on Google's models for Siri's core intelligence rather than its own.

Who it affects

iPhone owners eligible for iOS 27, which the piece says is rolling out to all users with iPhone 11 or later and iPhone SE (second generation) or later. It also affects developers of third-party apps, since the new Siri is positioned to work with outside apps once they are updated, and parents, given the release's expanded child-safety controls.

How to use it

iOS 27 installs through Settings > General > Software Update. New Siri capabilities include multistep and research-style questions, on-screen context answers about what is currently displayed, Camera app queries about what's in the viewfinder, drafting and sending messages, and a dedicated app for reopening past Siri conversations, with voice and expressiveness adjustable in Settings. Apple Intelligence separately lets users create Shortcuts by describing automations in plain language and extend them with more steps afterward.

How solid is it

This is one TechCrunch writer's first-person, hands-on account after using the public beta on a main device and the developer beta earlier on another, not an Apple benchmark or a broad user survey. The reviewer reports sports-query hiccups in earlier developer builds that mostly cleared up, and difficulty getting Siri to file items into the correct note until the note's name was simplified. No quantitative measure of how much smarter the new Siri is compared with the old one is given; the comparison is described only in qualitative terms.

Risks and caveats

The review does not confirm that third-party app integration works smoothly: the reviewer says it will be interesting to see once developers update their apps, so that claim is untested. The Photos app's reframe and extend tools do not always work well by the reviewer's own account. No pricing, regional availability or carrier restrictions for iOS 27 are mentioned, and the review gives no specific calendar date for when iOS 27 or its betas launched.

“This is green juice,”

— Siri, responding to a photo of a drink held up to the Camera app, as quoted in the TechCrunch review