It’s not just AI: See what hidden changes iOS27 brings

Apple Maps is becoming a serious competitor

Apple has introduced a significant improvement to “Flyover”, a feature that provides impressive 3D views of cities and landmarks. The feature has been refreshed with more detailed visuals and smoother navigation, making virtual city exploration a more enjoyable experience.

The company also recently launched “Local Lists,” a new way for users to discover and save recommendations for restaurants, attractions, and other places within Maps by following what’s popular right now. This appears to be a direct attempt by Apple to attract users who use third-party applications for local research, such as the ubiquitous Google Maps or even social networks such as Instagram and TikTok.

Greater control over location sharing in the Find My app

The Find My app becomes more flexible with new location sharing controls. Starting this fall, users will be able to share their location for a custom period of time, whether it’s a few minutes, several hours, a few days, or until a specific date and time.

Apple is also adding the ability to temporarily pause location sharing with individual contacts for the rest of the day. These changes are designed for different situations, such as keeping a secret about a surprise birthday party or for meetings where real-time location sharing is not required.

The wallet is becoming smarter and more versatile

The Apple Wallet application is getting significant improvements that will make everyday financial interactions easier.

Automatic account sharing

One of the most prominent additions allows users to scan bills with the iPhone’s camera and automatically share expenses with friends using Apple Cash. Powered by Apple Intelligence, this feature can identify individual items on a bill, calculate each person’s share of tax and tips, and facilitate refunds directly through Messages or Wallet. It’s important to note that features that rely on Apple Intelligence require newer hardware, not the A17 Pro or newer, found in the iPhone 15 Pro and later.

Digitization of cards and more advanced hotel keys

The wallet also receives support for the digitization of physical membership and loyalty cards. Users can simply point the iPhone’s camera at the barcode or scan a digital card to save it directly to Wallet. Support also extends to the Apple Watch, so passes can even be pinned to the Smart Stack for faster access.

Travelers will benefit from a renewed experience with hotel keys. In addition to unlocking rooms and contents with an iPhone or Apple Watch, guests at participating hotels can access travel details, activity schedules, service information and real-time updates directly within Wallet.

Improvements to Apple Pay and Apple Music

Apple Pay is getting a redesigned online and in-app payment experience. Users will be able to more easily switch between payment cards while viewing information such as reward point balances, debit account balances and available deferred payment options.

For merchants, Apple is expanding the “Tap to Pay” feature on the iPhone with a new feature called “Tap to Share.” Customers can connect with participating merchants with a simple tap to securely share information such as loyalty accounts, shipping addresses, and contact information.

In the Apple Music app, the “Lyrics Translation” feature has been expanded with support for seven additional language pairs, including English translations for French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Japanese songs. The Speak Lyrics feature will now help users sing along to songs in languages ​​they may not speak by displaying phonetically translated lyrics.

Upgrades for podcasts and shared albums

Podcast fans are getting some welcome upgrades. A new “browse within a show” feature allows users to search directly through episodes of a particular podcast on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro and on the web. Apple also brings video podcasts to Mac and Apple TV, reflecting the growing popularity of the video format in the world of podcasting.

The iCloud Shared Albums service introduces full-resolution photo sharing, support for additional file types, emoji reactions, and improved activity feeds. In addition, new temporary albums are designed for short-term projects and events, allowing groups to collaborate without permanently occupying iCloud space. It is significant that even people without Apple devices can add photos via the web.