I don’t usually recommend downloading public betas of Apple software unless you really want to and have a second device you’re willing to test. Apple’s latest public beta because its various devices are here as expected, and I’ve been living with iPadOS 27 in its developer beta for a month now. 11-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip. I can already tell you that this year, the benefits are subtle but very much appreciated.
I’ve lost my expectations for converting an iPad to a Mac. This OS is no closer to being Mac-like than iPadOS 26, and Apple’s tablet remains (to me) a strange combination of something iPhone-like and Mac-like, though not technically. I accepted, begrudgingly, as I noted earlier this year.
But the good news is that iPadOS 27 is iOS 27focused on both performance improvements and a better Siri.
You might say to yourself: Who cares about Siri, or AI for that matter? It’s understandable. I’m sick of AI too. The difference with Siri compared to other AI services is that it really equates to a better device-aware assistant that can help a ton by searching for things. I haven’t scratched the surface of what it might do, but Siri’s deep hooks for Messages, Files, Photos, Mail, Calendar and basically everything else give you contextual awareness that most other AI platforms lack.
I’ve been playing with it too in Apple’s Vision Prowhich doesn’t have a public beta but has several developer betas doing the same thing.
A big part of that is the total indexing of your device, the new Spotlight search that takes a long time to finish processing after you download the new OS. It’s a one-time process, but it’s not fast. You can continue to use iPadOS 27 as you normally would, but the new Siri search intelligence takes a while to kick in until everything is fully indexed.
Siri lives in the new app now, like all other AI chatbots. Launching it brings up a saved history of all your past chat sessions, which can help jog your memory on what you were trying to find before. Siri does things like draft things, analyze texts and explain anything you want to know about. It’s the search awareness that wins me over the most.
I love this drop-down, teardrop effect on iPadOS 27.
Siri can also be called by voice, or by a lovely touch of pulling down from the top of the screen, which looks like a magic wand that separates from the edge of the screen. It becomes a search bar, and if you ask certain questions it will also contact Siri directly. I asked what my friend just told me the other day, and searched through email and messages until the information came up. I’ve also tried to ask for it every time I talk about magic lately.
Shortly after downloading the first beta, I received a draft of my gameplay in an email that Siri quickly analyzed and provided comparative thoughts on. I can find conversations I’ve lost track of. Siri is limited to Apple apps and devices for now, at least until third-party apps build hook-ins for Siri to access. That will happen on a larger scale most likely in the fall, when iPadOS 27 and iOS 27 come out of beta. For now, don’t try calling all your apps with Siri just yet.
Yes, I ask Siri for my oldest documents. The new Siri app holds all the previous sessions for use.
Also, using the new Siri to search the vast archives of Apple’s content I have, such as notes, is very eye-opening. I use Notes as a short-term memory tool most of the time, and now Siri is connected to that memory … and it feels like an extension of me, a little?
Siri is a local form of AI memory (which is also triangulated in Apple’s cloud), something different from the AI services I have to input information into. And in that sense, it also becomes useful immediately, I think. I’m sure it will all get better in the fall when more third-party apps can get into it, but I think Siri is my favorite right now.
The iPad feel within the device is also something I will enjoy. iPadOS 27 sometimes feels like a larger iPhone, and sometimes it feels like a Mac. It pulls features from OS updates for both. And maybe that shows that, after all these years, the iPad is where the iPhone and Mac are finally going. I’m here in the middle, on this iPad Air, waiting for it.
