iPadOS 27 Hands-On: Everything New for iPad

Key Points:

• iPadOS 27 introduces an enhanced Siri AI with capabilities matching the iPhone version, including accessing personal data, web searches, app task completion, and screen content queries, plus the ability to index and interact with handwritten notes via Apple Pencil.
• New features include the Image Playground app for generating images in various styles, including photorealistic visuals, and expanded Visual Intelligence, allowing users to circle items in screenshots for information such as nutritional data and plant identification.
• The Shortcuts app now uses AI to automatically create shortcuts based on user descriptions, improving workflow customization, especially for window management when using a keyboard with the iPad.
• Safari gains automatic tab grouping and AI-powered extension generation, while overall system performance is enhanced with faster browsing, file transfers, AirDrop, app launches, and multitasking.
• Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features require iPads with M-series chips or the A17 Pro iPad mini, are unavailable at launch in the EU and China, and older iPads will receive performance improvements but not the new AI features.