iOS 27.2 adds five Siri AI languages, Apple Pencil support for iPhone Duo and 160+ security fixes

Apple has released iOS 27.2 for iPhones and iPads, an update that brings Siri's AI features to five additional languages, adds Apple Pencil support to the foldable iPhone Duo and ships more than 160 security fixes. According to TechCrunch, the release arrives as some early iPhone Duo buyers are reporting display problems with the new hardware.

Siri AI expands in beta

The headline change is language support. Siri's AI capabilities can now be used in French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, in beta, TechCrunch reports.

The assistant also gains a stronger memory. Apple says Siri can remember details from earlier conversations and answer accordingly, and TechCrunch notes that recall of personal preferences has become a key focus for AI assistant makers across the industry, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

Siri's memory can draw on a range of on-device sources, including photos shared in Messages, calendar event attendees, voicemails, Safari history and reading lists. Users can choose which apps to exclude from what the assistant remembers.

Features for the foldable and FaceTime

Despite the display complaints from early buyers, Apple is adding features for the iPhone Duo. iOS 27.2 enables Apple Pencil input in apps such as Notes and Preview, and introduces an Edge Light effect intended to better highlight a caller's face during video calls.

FaceTime gets Dual Capture, which streams the front and rear cameras simultaneously during group calls, along with the ability to add a third-party sign language interpreter or live captioner to a conversation.

Smaller additions across the system

Elsewhere, the update suggests turning messages into reminders or calendar events, lets users edit captions and add comments in Shared Albums, and surfaces expiry-date reminders for shared folders. The Podcasts app is refreshed to show new episodes from followed shows alongside episodes a listener is currently working through.

Multiview also arrives on the iPhone, letting users watch up to four live sports streams at once through Apple TV, including Major League Soccer, Formula 1 in the US and Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders during the MLB season, with multiple F1 feeds available during a broadcast.

Security fixes and a targeted-attack patch

The update includes over 160 security fixes, according to Apple's release documentation cited by TechCrunch. Many of those fixes were backported to iOS 26, the version Apple says roughly 80% of iPhone owners still run.

One fix went further back. Apple backported a patch to iOS 18, first released in 2024, for a flaw it says may have been exploited in what the company described as "an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals" on versions of iOS before iOS 27. As TechCrunch points out, that phrasing is Apple's standard wording when a phone has been compromised by government spyware or a law enforcement forensic device, but the company gave no specifics about who was behind the exploitation.

Why it matters

The security angle deserves attention first. A vulnerability serious enough to warrant a patch for a 2024 release, described in language that typically signals spyware use, means users on older iPhones should install the update promptly. With the large majority of iPhones still running iOS 26, Apple's decision to backport fixes broadly matters more than the raw fix count suggests.

The Siri changes are significant too. Support for five major languages broadens the reach of Apple's AI assistant, and the new memory features pull in sensitive data such as voicemails, Messages photos and browsing history. The app-level exclusions give users some control, but the feature is likely to keep the privacy debate around on-device AI assistants alive.