iPadOS 27 Hands-On: All the New Features for iPad
▼ Summary
– iPadOS 27 includes a smarter Siri with personal data access, web search, and in-app task completion, plus handwriting indexing for Apple Pencil users.
– Systemwide AI writing tools in Siri can summarize, rewrite, check grammar, and generate text across any app.
– A new Image Playground app generates images in any style, and the Image Wand in Notes turns sketches into photorealistic visuals.
– Visual Intelligence expands to iPad, allowing users to circle items in screenshots for information like nutritional values or plant identification.
– iPadOS 27 requires an M-series chip or A17 Pro iPad mini; EU and China users won’t get Siri AI at launch, but older iPads still receive performance improvements.
With iPadOS 27, Apple is bringing a smarter, more proactive Siri experience to the tablet, alongside the same suite of Apple Intelligence features found in iOS 27. But the iPad version also introduces several exclusive capabilities that take full advantage of the larger screen and Apple Pencil.
The upgraded Siri AI on iPad mirrors its iPhone counterpart, allowing it to tap into your personal data, browse the web for answers, execute tasks within apps, and respond to queries about content currently on your display. For users who rely on the Apple Pencil, Siri can now index your handwritten notes, making them searchable. You can ask Siri to take specific actions on your notes, whether they are typed or handwritten.
Writing assistance is a major focus. Siri can summarize text, rewrite passages, offer writing advice, check grammar, and even generate new content for you. A systemwide “Write with Siri” feature ensures you get this help regardless of which app you are using.
A new Image Playground app lets you generate images in various styles, including photorealistic. This capability powers the Image Wand inside the Notes app. You can sketch a rough idea in Notes and then use the Image Wand to transform it into a polished, photorealistic visual.
Visual Intelligence, previously limited to the iPhone, is now available on the iPad with iPadOS 27. You can take a screenshot, then circle any object with your finger or the Apple Pencil to get instant information. The feature supports identifying plants and animals, calculating the nutritional value of food, and more.
The Shortcuts app now uses AI to automatically generate custom shortcuts for you, a particularly powerful tool on the iPad. For example, you can describe a desired workflow in a sentence or two, like changing the windowing behavior when you connect a keyboard versus using the tablet alone, and a functional shortcut will appear in about a minute.
Safari gains automatic tab grouping, and a new AI feature lets you generate your own extensions. Like iOS 27, iPadOS 27 benefits from performance improvements that make browsing, file transfers, and AirDrop noticeably faster. Apps launch more quickly, and multitasking feels snappier.
A new Liquid Glass slider allows you to adjust opacity to your liking, and other Liquid Glass enhancements improve overall readability. You can now also resize iPhone apps that are running on the iPad.
Siri AI and Apple Intelligence in iPadOS 27 require an iPad with an M-series chip or the A17 Pro iPad mini. EU users will not receive Siri AI on iPad at launch, and it is also unavailable in China.
Older iPads will not get Siri AI or Apple Intelligence features, but they will still benefit from the performance enhancements. These older models should feel noticeably faster on iPadOS 27 than they did on iPadOS 26.
(Source: MacRumors)
