I recently explored and tested over 200 new features in the iOS 27 beta, but in this post, I’ve distilled that list down to 10 of my favorite new features for iPhone. From Journal app writing prompts and section links in Notes, to much-improved 3D buildings in Apple Maps, iOS 27 is packed with awesome new enhancements.

1. Journal Writing Prompts

If you find yourself lost for words while journaling, the new writing prompts feature can help. It uses text or photos to generate questions to help spur your writing. For example, I showed it a photo of me holding a rubber duck, and writing prompts generated a question specifically about the duck related to my journal entry. This tool is designed to overcome writer's block and make journaling a more fluid experience. It draws from your photos, locations, and recent activities to craft personalized prompts. Apple introduced the Journal app in iOS 17, and this feature builds on that foundation by understanding the context of your entries. It’s a subtle but powerful addition for anyone who wants to maintain a daily journal but struggles to start. The prompts are generated on-device using machine learning, ensuring privacy while still offering tailored suggestions.

2. AirPods EQ

I use my AirPods Pro more than any other piece of tech I own, and I love that they are consistently updated each year with new software features. Coinciding with the launch of the OS 27 beta is a new EQ feature that lets you adjust the low, mid, and high frequencies of your AirPods in real time. It’s basic from an audio customization standpoint, but a welcome addition nonetheless. This feature, like past updates, continues to make AirPods one of the most value-laden products that Apple makes. The EQ settings are accessible from the Audio Accessibility menu in Settings, and users can create custom presets or use pre-set profiles such as Bass Boost, Treble Boost, or Vocal Range. This allows for a more personalized listening experience, whether you prefer punchier bass for workout playlists or clearer vocals for podcasts. Apple has been slowly adding audio customization to AirPods over the years, and this EQ marks a significant step forward for those who want fine-grained control without needing a third-party app.

3. Section Links in Notes

The Notes app gets several noteworthy changes in iOS 27 beta, but the one that stands out most for me is the ability to add links to specific sections of a note. Particularly useful for lengthy notes, you can use this feature to hop around the various sections of your note with just a tap. To create a section link, simply highlight a heading or a block of text, choose the "Link to Section" option from the context menu, and paste the link into another part of the note. This effectively turns your note into an interactive table of contents. It builds on the Notes app’s existing heading and checkmark formatting, making it easier to navigate notes that contain meeting minutes, research summaries, or project plans. For power users who rely on Notes for work, this is a productivity game-changer.

4. Automatically Resend Failed Messages

No longer will you look back at a message thread and realize that the message you meant to share was never sent, because iOS 27’s Messages app will automatically retry a failed message. In previous versions, if a message failed to send due to poor network conditions or a temporary server issue, you would see a red exclamation mark and had to manually tap to resend. Now, the system will automatically retry the send up to three times before giving up and notifying you. This is particularly useful in areas with spotty cellular coverage or when traveling, ensuring that your important messages eventually reach their destination without requiring constant attention. It’s a small but thoughtful improvement that reduces frustration in everyday communication.

5. Improved FlyOver in Maps

In our latest episode of the podcast, I said that some of the buildings in Apple Maps’ flyover sort of looked like melted butter and lacked definition. Apple has worked to improve Maps’ 3D buildings in flyover, and the results are stunning. The sheer detail and resolution of some of the buildings in supported cities like Vegas and Austin look downright incredible. Using higher-resolution textures and improved LIDAR scanning, Apple has dramatically enhanced the realism of its 3D cityscapes. The new flyover experience now includes reflective windows, realistic shadows, and even interior details visible from certain angles. For urban explorers and architecture enthusiasts, this update makes Apple Maps a much more engaging tool for virtual city tours. It also benefits navigation by providing clearer landmarks and orientation cues.

6. Apple Music Landscape Support

iOS 27 adds landscape support to a bunch of apps, including Weather, Health, Fitness, Music, and more. Landscape support in the Music app is limited to the now-playing interface, but it’s great for those who like to dock their phone on a desktop while playing music. When you rotate your iPhone to landscape, the now-playing screen expands to show album art on the left and playback controls on the right, with larger text and buttons. This is especially useful when using your iPhone as a music source in a car mount or on a desk stand. It’s part of a broader push by Apple to make the iPhone more versatile in different orientations, a feature that many users have requested for years. While the Music app’s landscape mode is not full-featured—you can’t browse your library sideways—it’s a solid start that will benefit anyone who listens to music while working at a computer.

7. Improved Clean Up in Photos

The Clean Up tool in the previous version of iOS worked okay in certain circumstances, but it was hit-or-miss and generally required ideal photo conditions. While it’s still not perfect, iOS 27’s agentic image generation has improved significantly, delivering impressive results. In the example below, I was able to remove a mug from my photo, and the shelf surface regenerated in a way I’m confident iOS 26 wouldn’t have. The new Clean Up leverages advanced machine learning models that better understand scene geometry and texture patterns. It can now handle more complex backgrounds, such as grass, water, or patterned walls, without leaving artifacts. For casual photographers, this means you can quickly remove unwanted objects, tourists, or blemishes from your photos with a single tap. The tool is integrated directly into the Photos app’s editing suite, so there’s no need to export images to third-party apps. It’s a must-try feature for anyone who wants to polish their photos on the go.

8. Photos Extend

In addition to the Clean Up updates, iOS 27 adds two additional photo tools – Extend and Reframe. With Reframe I’ve had mixed results, but Extend has been very impressive. It can extend a photo in any direction and intelligently fill in missing details so it looks natural. Just compare the before-and-after pictures below. It even extends the curtain, which is slightly in the foreground of the frame. The Extend tool uses generative AI to predict what lies beyond the edges of the original image. You can drag the crop handles outward to extend the canvas, and the system will fill the new area with plausible content. This is perfect for correcting a photo that was accidentally cropped too tightly or for creating a wider composition from a portrait shot. The results are often startlingly realistic, though it works best with scenes that have repetitive patterns (like sky, grass, or walls). Apple has clearly invested heavily in on-device AI for this feature, as all processing is done locally to maintain privacy.

9. Custom Passes in Wallet

The Wallet app in iOS 27 adds several noteworthy improvements, but the biggest new feature is the ability to create custom passes based on existing physical or digital passes. By scanning a barcode or QR code from an existing pass and replicating it in a new digital pass, users can use the Wallet app instead of carrying a physical pass to a gym, store, restaurant, theme park, etc. This is a breakthrough for organizations that don’t have official Apple Wallet integration. You can now scan any barcode—whether it’s a gym membership card, a library card, or a coffee shop loyalty card—and create a digital version that lives in Wallet. The feature also supports adding images, expiration dates, and location-based notifications so the pass automatically appears when you’re near the venue. It extends the Wallet’s utility far beyond Apple Pay and boarding passes, making it a true digital replacement for the physical wallet. For businesses, this could encourage more adoption of QR-based loyalty programs.

10. Safari Tab Topics

Safari in iOS 27 will now intelligently generate tab topics to group related websites, helping you organize your tabs in tab view. It’s sort of like tab groups, but it’s automatic and requires no manual organization on the user end. When you have multiple tabs open, Safari analyzes the content of each page and groups them by theme—for example, all news articles about the same topic, or all shopping pages for a particular product. The groups appear as collapsible sections in the tab overview, and you can tap on a group to see only those tabs. This feature is powered by on-device machine learning and respects your privacy by not sending page content to Apple. For heavy multitaskers, it reduces tab clutter and makes it easier to find that one article you opened hours ago. It’s a natural evolution of the tab groups feature introduced in iOS 15, taking the manual effort out of organization.

Needless to say, this is just a smidgen of the new changes and enhancements in iOS 27. Which feature are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below.

Top Apple Accessories

• AirPods Pro 3
• AirPods 4 with Noise Cancellation

Source:9to5Mac News