While Apple’s new Siri AI and Apple Intelligence announcements dominated the WWDC spotlight earlier this month, the tech giant also packed iOS 27 with a number of upgrades to its everyday apps and services, including smart bill distribution in Apple Wallet, new ways to share locations in Find My, and improved Apple Maps features.
Apple Maps
Apple introduced an improvement to “Flyover,” a feature that provides immersive 3D views of cities and landmarks. The feature has been refreshed with more detailed visuals and smoother navigation.
The company also launched “Local Lists,” a new way for users to discover and save recommendations for restaurants, attractions, and other locations within a map, by seeing what’s trending. This could be Apple’s way of dissuading users from using third-party apps like Google Maps or even Instagram and TikTok for local searches.
Look for me.
Find My location is getting more flexible with new location sharing controls. Starting this fall, users will be able to share their location for as long as they want, whether it’s a few minutes, several hours, several days, or a specific date and time.
Apple is also adding the ability to temporarily block location sharing with individual contacts until the end of the day. Variations are designed for different situations, such as wrapping up a surprise birthday party.
Apple Wallet
Apple Wallet is getting a significant boost. One of the standout additions allows users to scan receipts using their iPhone camera and automatically split bills with friends using Apple Cash. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the feature can identify individual items on a receipt, calculate each individual’s portion of taxes and tips, and facilitate payments directly via Messages or Wallet.
Vault is also getting help digitizing physical membership and loyalty cards. Users can simply point their iPhone camera at the barcode or scan the digital card and store it directly in the wallet. Apple Watch is supported, so passes can also be attached to the Apple Watch SmartStack for faster retrieval.
Travelers will benefit from a key hotel experience. In addition to unlocking rooms and amenities with an iPhone or Apple Watch, guests staying at participating hotels and resorts will be able to access travel details, activity schedules, service information and real-time updates directly within Wallet.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is getting a redesigned checkout experience online and in apps. Users will be able to more easily swipe between payment cards while viewing information such as rewards balances, debit account balances, and available payment options later. Later this year, Apple says customers will also be able to add funds directly to eligible debit cards through Wallet or during Apple Pay checkout.
For merchants, Apple is expanding “Tap to Pay” on iPhone with a new feature called “Tap to Share.” Customers can connect directly with participating merchants using a simple tap to securely share information such as loyalty accounts, shipping addresses and contact details.
Apple Music
Apple Music is expanding the “Lyrics Translation” feature to support seven additional language pairs, including English translations of songs in French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Japanese. “Song Pronunciation” will now help users sing along to songs in languages they can’t speak by showing the lyrics translated phonetically in five new language pairs.
The “Auto Mix” feature, which automatically creates smooth transitions between songs, is being enhanced with more immersive mixes and is expanding beyond iPhone to Apple TV and HomePod. Apple Music subscribers also get access to high-res lossless audio on Apple TV 4K, allowing users with compatible sound systems to experience studio-quality audio through TVOS.
The Apple Podcast
Podcast listeners are getting some welcome upgrades. A new “search within a show” feature allows users to search directly through specific podcast episodes on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the web. Apple is also bringing video podcasts to both Mac and Apple TV, reflecting the growing popularity of video-first podcasting.
iCloud Shared Albums
Fitness+
Fitness+ is launching “Strong Through Menopause,” a three-week program featuring guided yoga and strength exercises designed to help people build strength, improve mobility and balance, and manage stress during perimenopause and menopause. Apple is also adding a new “Time to Walk” episode featuring actor Busy Phillips, who shares personal stories about her experiences with perimenopause.
All of these features are available for developers to test now through the Apple Developer Program, with a public beta coming next month.
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