iPadOS 27 Features That Got Lost Behind Apple’s Siri AI Reveal

Apple previewed iPadOS 27 at its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, with Siri AI as the headliner. The Apple press release announcing the new services and intelligence features and the developer beta also include a set of iPad-only changes the keynote did not feature.

Browsing files on an iPad and moving them to a USB drive is up to 5x faster in iPadOS 27, Apple said, fast enough to match Finder on a Mac. Resizable iPhone apps and a new status bar carry the iPad productivity story. Public beta arrives in July, with the general release in the fall.

What Apple Actually Showed on Stage

Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote ran for roughly two hours and was built around one announcement: Siri AI. The next-generation assistant uses Apple’s third-generation foundation models, developed with help from Google, per WIRED’s coverage of the top new iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 features. It can hold back-and-forth conversations, search across Mail, Messages, Notes, Reminders, and Calendar, and take action inside apps like Mail and Photos.

Apple also showed a Liquid Glass slider for the iPhone and iPad, redesigned parental controls, an AI photo editing tool called Extend, and updates to Image Playground. The Photos app’s Spatial Reframing tool, which re-angles a captured photo using generative AI, gets a full breakdown in how Spatial Reframing re-angles iPhone photos with Apple Intelligence. The new features are available for developer testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program, per Apple’s June 8 press release on the new software line. A public beta arrives in July.

Most of those features are not iPad-specific. The same Siri AI, the same Liquid Glass refinements, and most of the same Photos tools are coming to iOS 27, with the iOS 27 features that slipped past the WWDC hype covering a related set of under-keynoted changes.

The iPad-Only Performance Story

The most consequential iPadOS 27 changes are performance numbers. Apple said in its press release that iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30 percent faster, photos load up to 70 percent faster in the Photos library, and AirDrop transfers are up to 80 percent faster. Network transitions between Wi-Fi and cellular are smoother, per Apple.

The headline iPad figure sits lower in the release: browsing files on iPad and transferring them to an external USB drive is up to 5x faster. Apple called the result “just as fast as Finder on a Mac.” The four performance numbers all come from the same press release, and Apple labeled the file-transfer figure as iPad-specific. The other three apply to iPhone and iPad together.

Apple’s release ties the 5x figure directly to Finder on Mac. The other three numbers are framed as speed-ups, with no Mac-equivalence claim.

These gains come partly from an expanded CPU scheduler, Apple said. The optimization extends to all iPads that can run iPadOS 27, not just the M-series models. A-series iPads also see the same performance headroom, per the iPadOS 27 developer release notes.

Multitasking, the Status Bar, and the iPhone App Fix

iPadOS has carried an awkwardness for years. Running an iPhone app in its native size on an iPad looks like a phone in the middle of a desk. iPadOS 27 changes that, allowing iPhone apps that run on iPadOS to be resized bigger, per the iPadOS 27 feature roundup on MacRumors.

A second iPad-only change: app names now show in the iPad’s status bar. Tapping or hovering a cursor over the app name brings up the menu bar faster.

The redesign treats the iPad’s chrome like a Mac’s, where the active app is always named at the top of the screen. A third iPad-specific item: Shortcuts now supports Magic Keyboard triggers, so a shortcut can run when a keyboard is attached. The iPadOS 27 multitasking changes also include faster window gestures and quicker context menus when using a cursor. The full list lives in the developer notes, not the keynote.

• 5x faster iPad-to-USB file transfers, “just as fast as Finder on a Mac” (Apple)
• iPadOS 27 supports iPads back to the 6th-generation iPad mini (MacRumors)
• Siri AI is not available in the EU or China at launch (Apple)
• The new Siri app supports windowing on iPad (MacRumors)
• Custom Siri voice requires an M4 iPad Pro or M4 iPad Air with at least 1TB of storage (MacRumors)

Files, USB, and the Quiet Mac Parity Push

Apple’s iPadOS 27 press release puts one number at the center of the productivity story. “Browsing and transferring files between external drives and iPad is up to 5x faster, making it just as fast as Finder on Mac,” Apple said. The same release notes that browsing files on iPad is now in line with Finder’s speed. That language, “just as fast as Finder on a Mac,” is in the official press release.

The other half of the change is the Files app keeping up. Swapping apps, dragging a video off an external SSD, and moving large files between apps are all faster, per the developer notes. Apple credits both gains to an expanded CPU scheduler that now runs on all iPadOS 27-supported iPads.

Visual Intelligence Comes to the iPad

Visual Intelligence, the camera-based lookup tool, is now on the iPad in iPadOS 27. It works whenever a screenshot is taken, with the option to highlight specific information with Apple Pencil.

Visual Intelligence can pull nutritional information from a photo of a meal, import multiple events to the calendar at once, or split a receipt for you. It can also import contacts from a business card photo or move a membership card into the Wallet app. These features are part of the broader Apple Intelligence rollout that also brings Siri AI to the iPad.

Apple Pencil support is the iPad-specific piece of the Visual Intelligence rollout. Highlighting a region of a screenshot with the Pencil triggers a more focused lookup, per MacRumors. Visual Intelligence was already on iPhone since iOS 18, but the iPad version is new. The rollout requires an iPad that supports Apple Intelligence, per Apple.

Visual Intelligence received a mention in Apple’s press release but did not get its own demo in the WWDC keynote, per WIRED. The feature is folded into the broader Apple Intelligence pitch. The iPad Pencil addition is the iPad-specific piece, per MacRumors.

Siri AI Lands With a Sidebar and a Window

Siri AI gets its own app on iPadOS 27, the same as on the iPhone. The iPad version goes further, with a dedicated sidebar and support for windowing, per MacRumors. Conversations sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other compatible devices.

The press release frames Siri AI as the year’s biggest iPad and iPhone software story. The next-generation assistant was built with help from Google’s Gemini models, per WIRED, though Apple says no Siri data is shared with Google.

Apple previewed its upcoming software releases that will deliver the next generation of Apple Intelligence and introduce Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri that is profoundly more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable.

Siri AI is available in English at launch and will expand to other languages later. Apple said Siri AI for iPhone and iPad will not initially be available in the European Union because of issues with the Digital Markets Act. Siri AI and the new Apple Intelligence features are not available in China. Custom Siri voices, including adjustable pace and expressivity, require an M4 iPad Pro or M4 iPad Air with at least 1TB of storage, per MacRumors.

The Offstage Features Worth Knowing

Apple’s keynote did not cover every change. TechCrunch published the offstage iOS 27 features list on TechCrunch on June 9, 2026. Most of those items also apply to the iPad.

The list includes seven items. They range from a redesigned Messages Drawing option to a slider for setting alarm volume independent of system volume. TechCrunch notes the list is non-exhaustive, with additional offstage features likely to surface in subsequent betas. Each item was tested by TechCrunch on the iOS 27 developer beta.

• Full-screen widgets on the home screen (TechCrunch)
• Separate volume levels for alarms, timers, alerts, and system sounds, set in Settings > Sounds & Haptics (TechCrunch)
• A redesigned Messages app with a Drawing option for sketches and diagrams (TechCrunch)
• Camera controls overhaul with easier access to depth, grid, and level options (TechCrunch)
• An emoji keyboard scroll bar at the bottom of the picker (TechCrunch)
• Custom Wallet passes that users can create themselves (TechCrunch)
• CarPlay audio scrubbing, a long-requested addition (TechCrunch)

Compatibility, Storage, and Who Should Wait

iPadOS 27 supports the 6th-generation iPad mini and later, the 9th-generation iPad and later, the 2nd-generation 11-inch iPad Pro and later, the 4th-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro and later, and the 4th-generation iPad Air or later, per MacRumors’ iPadOS 27 compatibility summary.

Apple’s iPhone compatibility list for iOS 27 is broader: the iPhone 11 and up, including the iPhone SE (2nd Gen), will all run iOS 27, per WIRED. iPadOS 27 drops support for the 5th-generation iPad mini, the 8th-generation iPad, the 3rd-generation iPad Air, the first-generation 11-inch iPad Pro, and the 3rd-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro. WIRED notes that any iPhone that received iOS 26 is still compatible with iOS 27.

The iPadOS 27 developer beta dropped on June 8 for registered developers, the same day as the WWDC 2026 keynote. Apple said the public beta will be available next month through beta.apple.com. The general release arrives this fall, in September alongside iOS 27, per MacRumors. Apple confirmed the fall timing in its June 8 press release.

Most iPad owners should wait. WIRED warns that developer betas are notoriously buggy, and the company recommends installing them on a secondary device only. For an iPad that handles work every day, the public beta in July is the safer entry point, and the fall release is the one that will land on most machines by default.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will iPadOS 27 be released?

Apple seeded the iPadOS 27 developer beta on June 8, 2026, the day of the WWDC 2026 keynote. A public beta arrives in July, with the general release expected this fall.

Which iPads will get iPadOS 27?

iPadOS 27 runs on the 6th-generation iPad mini and later, the 9th-generation iPad and later, the 2nd-generation 11-inch iPad Pro and later, the 4th-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro and later, and the 4th-generation iPad Air or later. iPadOS 27 drops support for the 5th-generation iPad mini, the 8th-generation iPad, the 3rd-generation iPad Air, the first-generation 11-inch iPad Pro, and the 3rd-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Will Siri AI work in Europe or China?

Not at launch. Apple said Siri AI for iPhone and iPad is not initially available in the European Union because of issues with the Digital Markets Act, and the new Apple Intelligence features are unavailable in China.

What is new in iPadOS 27 for the Files app?

Browsing files on iPad and transferring them to an external USB drive is up to five times faster, Apple said, fast enough to match Finder on Mac. The same press release also notes that moving between Wi-Fi and cellular networks is smoother than before.

Should I install the iPadOS 27 developer beta?

WIRED cautions that developer betas ship with bugs that can occasionally make a device inoperable, recommending they be installed on a secondary device only. For an iPad that handles work every day, the July public beta, or the fall release, is the safer path.