iOS 27 and macOS 27 bring a rebuilt Siri powered by Google's Gemini

A rebuilt Siri finally ships

Apple has released iOS 27 and macOS 27 "Golden Gate", with a fully reworked Siri as the headline feature of both. According to TechCrunch, the new assistant is built on Google's Gemini models and replaces a version that depended on a broad knowledge base and an uneven ChatGPT integration. Apple first showed off this more capable Siri alongside Apple Intelligence more than two years ago; after repeated delays, it is now arriving with a new logo and animation.

Compatibility is broad: iOS 27 covers the iPhone 11 and later plus the second-generation iPhone SE onward, while macOS 27 Golden Gate supports Apple Silicon MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from 2020, the iMac from 2021, the Mac mini from 2020, Mac Studio from 2022, Mac Pro from 2023, and the MacBook Neo.

Context-aware assistance on both platforms

The defining change is that Siri now understands what is on screen. TechCrunch's reviewer used it to ask about World Cup lineups mid-match, had on-screen text read aloud, and pulled funding and competitor details for a startup while browsing its site. The Camera app gains Siri access too, so questions can be asked about what is in the viewfinder — tests included identifying a drink at a restaurant and getting menu suggestions from a photo of a restaurant sign.

Siri can also reach into files, messages and email. TechCrunch describes multistep requests such as collecting lesser-known iOS 27 features into a note, and drafting a return message by first locating the original delivery conversation. There is now a dedicated Siri app for revisiting past chats, and Settings exposes new voice and expressiveness options.

On the Mac, the same engine is paired with desktop input methods: Command + Shift + Space feeds the focused window to the assistant as context, and Command + Shift + 6 opens a crosshair for selecting part of the screen, which then offers actions like adding details to a contact or looking up a location. Siri can proofread, rewrite or improve selected text, and draft content inside any text field — an area where TechCrunch finds the desktop version especially useful.

Spotlight, Safari and Apple Intelligence extras

Spotlight on the Mac now doubles as a Siri entry point, with scoped searches across Applications, Files, Actions and the Clipboard, plus the ability to run Shortcuts and revisit recent searches. TechCrunch rates it below Raycast in extensibility but a clear step up from before. Safari adds AI-driven page monitoring for things like price drops, privacy policy edits and new posts on sites without RSS feeds, and it can group open tabs by topic automatically.

Elsewhere, Apple Intelligence lets users build Shortcuts by describing them in plain language, and iOS gains custom Safari alerts for tracking changes to a page. The Photos app introduces reframe and extend tools (which TechCrunch found hit-or-miss) alongside a cleaner eraser, and the Passwords app can rotate passwords automatically by signing into sites itself. Smaller refinements include a cross-app clipboard with quick paste buttons, granular controls for Liquid Glass transparency on both platforms (with refreshed icons and uniform window corners on macOS), automatic Wi-Fi-to-cellular failover on iOS, and expanded child safety features such as per-day time limits, remote approval for new websites and warnings about nudity in Messages, FaceTime and other apps.

Why it matters

Two things make this release significant beyond the feature list. First, TechCrunch reports that the new Siri is positioned to work with third-party apps once developers update them. If those handoffs are smooth, Siri becomes a distribution and interaction layer across the app ecosystem rather than a first-party curiosity, and it puts Apple in direct competition with the screen-aware assistants already built into most major browsers and tools like Highlight, Caddy and Littlebird. Second, the decision to base Siri on Google's Gemini marks a strategic turn for Apple after years of struggling to ship its own advanced assistant, and it changes assumptions about whose AI sits at the center of the iPhone and Mac experience.