iOS 27 finally brought the much-improved Siri experience to iPhones that Apple had promised three years ago. The new Siri, called Siri AI, actually feels useful now. I can use it to create shortcuts, get responses based on my own context, perform actions in apps, and much more. Of all the Siri AI features, three simple ones have truly improved my everyday experience. Let’s discuss them.
The search is advanced throughout the country
Transparent search has been one of my favorite features of iOS. I can just swipe down anywhere on the screen to invoke Spotlight and use it to find apps, do math, and search the web.
With Siri AI in iOS 27, it feels like Spotlight search has gotten a big boost. Not only can it do everything it used to do, but now it does it faster and better. It has also gained new features that make it even more capable.
For example, now when I ask questions that require a web search, it doesn’t bring me into Safari with a bunch of links. Most of the time it finds the information I’m looking for and gives me a short answer on the spot.
It can also search within applications. So I can ask it to receive photos, a specific message in my messages app, or an email. Searching by email is what makes me so happy. Apple Mail was really bad at receiving emails. With the new Siri AI, that’s a thing of the past, and it can quickly find the emails I’m looking for most of the time.
Advanced search saves me so much time that I can’t believe how happy I’ve been with my iPhone without it for the past few years. It’s one of those features that works in the background but improves your life immeasurably.
Adding reminders and calendar events finally feels natural
I’ve been using Fantastical 2 (and Dot Calendar) for years to add calendar events to my Mac and iPhone for one simple reason. These apps support natural language processing, which allows me to add events by typing naturally.
For example, I can type something like “Dinner with Jenny at 10PM tomorrow,” and it will create an event with the appropriate date and time. Apple’s Calendar and Reminders have been missing this important feature for years, but not anymore.
With the latest Siri AI update, these apps finally support natural language processing, allowing me to create reminders and events without filling in all the various data fields.
I can just tell Siri AI to add an event in plain English or write it directly in Reminders or Calendar. It makes creating reminders and events easier than ever, and the best part is that you no longer have to pay for the app to do it.
Your camera has an AI brain too
One of my favorite additions to Siri AI is that it now works within the camera app. So whatever your camera sees, Siri AI can see too, giving you access to a host of features.
For example, you can turn on the camera in Siri AI mode, point to a product, and ask it to search for it on the web. You can use it to translate menus and street signs, find nutritional information about the foods you eat, and more.
Your imagination is the limit here. One of my favorite things to do is point to a plant and find out its name. If you haven’t used this feature yet, I highly recommend you try it.
Siri AI: final thoughts
These three features may not be the biggest updates in iOS 27, but they’re the ones I use every day. Siri AI finally feels like an assistant instead of a gimmick, and honestly, it’s taken long enough. If you’ve been ignoring Siri for the past few years, now might be the time to give it another shot.
