iOS 27 Brings Tighter Screen Time Controls, Safari Alerts and AI Photo Tools

Apple has begun rolling out iOS 27, its latest mobile operating system update, headlined by a more capable version of its Siri assistant. The release also carries a set of less prominent features aimed at everyday iPhone users.

The software is available on devices going back to the iPhone 11, launched in 2019, and includes performance refinements such as faster app loading. Features powered by Apple Intelligence are restricted to newer hardware, starting with the iPhone 16, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. A new Siri AI app will initially be offered in beta, requiring users to join a waitlist through the settings menu. Its release in the European Union will be delayed amid a dispute over the bloc's digital rules.

Reworked parental controls

Apple has expanded its child safety tools and overhauled screen time management, giving parents finer control over what children can access.

A new setup process lets parents pick which apps a child may use and add more over time. A feature called Ask to Browse requires children to seek permission before opening new websites in Safari. Like the existing Ask to Buy setting for purchases and downloads, it is switched on by default for children under 13. Parents can review and approve requests through messages or directly on the child's device using their passcode — a more flexible approach than approving sites one by one or blocking them outright.

The revised controls also let parents schedule app use by category, such as entertainment, games or social media. Certain app types can be permitted during a set window, for instance before, during and after school, with separate weekday and weekend schedules. Parents can suspend all device access when full attention is needed, such as at dinner, and can temporarily lift restrictions if a child needs more time to finish a task.

Apple has also widened its Communications Safety feature, which previously blocked nudity in images and videos shared through Messages or FaceTime. It now blocks gore and violence as well.

Watching webpages

Safari can now monitor webpages and alert users to changes. Apple says the Notify Me tool can track updates such as price changes and item availability.

To use it, a user opens Safari and visits the site to be monitored, taps the three-line menu icon at the bottom of the screen, scrolls to Notify Me and specifies the changes to watch for, along with how often checks should run — hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. In testing on a news site's section, alerts arrived when new headlines appeared, though they did not identify which of the randomly arranged posts was new. The tool cannot check as frequently as every few minutes, which may disappoint users awaiting something urgent.

AI editing in Photos

New AI-powered editing tools allow users to adjust a photo's perspective, remove distracting objects or extend the background beyond the frame. The tools are found by tapping the editing icon at the bottom of a photo, shown as three slider bars, then selecting Tools.

In one test, reframing a picture of a child outside the front door on the first day of school produced a realistic result after a few seconds of analysis, with the perspective adjustable from side to side or up and down. The extend tool on the same image fared worse, adding a garbled house number with a made-up character to mirror one on the left, enlarging a barely visible black electrical conduit pipe and stretching a gas meter box too far. It performed better on photos with generic backgrounds.