iOS 27 features may have been overshadowed by Apple’s flashy Siri AI and Apple Intelligence announcements at WWDC this month, but the update is packed with meaningful upgrades across everyday apps and services. From smarter bill splitting in Apple Wallet to flexible location sharing in Find My, here’s a rundown of everything worth knowing about.

Apple Maps Gets Smarter

Apple has refreshed its mapping experience with several notable improvements. The “Flyover” feature — which offers immersive 3D views of cities and landmarks — now boasts more detailed visuals and smoother navigation.

The bigger addition is “Local Lists,” a new tool for discovering and saving recommendations for restaurants, attractions, and other destinations based on what’s trending. This move appears to be Apple’s bid to lure users away from third-party platforms like Google Maps, Instagram, and TikTok for local exploration.

More Flexible Location Sharing in Find My

Find My is becoming far more adaptable thanks to new location-sharing controls. Starting this fall, users will be able to share their location for a custom length of time — whether that’s a few minutes, several hours, multiple days, or until a specific date and time.

Apple is also introducing the ability to temporarily pause location sharing with individual contacts until the end of the day. These changes are tailored for real-life scenarios, such as keeping a surprise birthday party under wraps.

A Major Upgrade for Apple Wallet

Apple Wallet is arguably the biggest winner in this update, gaining several standout features:

• Receipt scanning and bill splitting: Users can scan receipts with their iPhone camera and automatically split bills with friends using Apple Cash. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the feature identifies individual items, calculates each person’s share of taxes and tips, and handles repayment through Messages or Wallet.
• Digital membership and loyalty cards: Physical cards can now be digitized by pointing the iPhone camera at a barcode or scanning a digital card. Support also extends to Apple Watch, where passes can be pinned to the Smart Stack for quick access.
• Enhanced hotel keys: Guests at participating hotels and resorts can use their iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock rooms and amenities, while also accessing trip details, activity schedules, service information, and real-time updates directly within Wallet.

A Redesigned Apple Pay Experience

Apple Pay is getting a fresh checkout experience both online and in apps. Users will be able to swipe between payment cards more easily while viewing details like rewards balances, debit account balances, and pay-later options. Later this year, Apple plans to let users add funds directly to eligible debit cards through Wallet or during checkout.

Merchants benefit too. Apple is expanding “Tap to Pay” on iPhone with a new “Tap to Share” feature, allowing customers to securely share information — such as loyalty accounts, shipping addresses, and contact details — with participating merchants through a simple tap.

Apple Music Hits the Right Notes

Music lovers have plenty to look forward to. The “Lyrics Translation” feature is expanding to support seven additional language pairings, including English translations for songs in French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, and Japanese.

A new “Lyrics Pronunciation” feature will help users sing along to songs in unfamiliar languages by displaying phonetically translated lyrics across five new language pairings.

Meanwhile, the “AutoMix” feature — which creates smoother transitions between songs — is being enhanced with more immersive mixes and is expanding beyond iPhone to Apple TV and HomePod. Subscribers will also gain access to Hi-Res Lossless Audio on Apple TV 4K, delivering studio-quality sound through compatible systems.

Smarter Apple Podcasts

Podcast listeners are getting a couple of welcome improvements. A new “search within show” feature lets users search directly through a specific podcast’s episodes across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the web.

Reflecting the rise of video-first podcasting, Apple is also bringing video podcasts to both Mac and Apple TV.

iCloud Shared Albums Get a Refresh

Apple is rolling out several enhancements to iCloud Shared Albums, including:

• Full-resolution photo sharing
• Support for additional file types
• Emoji reactions and improved activity feeds
• Per-album activity viewing

There are also new temporary albums designed for short-term projects and events, letting groups collaborate without permanently eating into iCloud storage. Notably, people without Apple devices will now be able to contribute photos through the web.

New Fitness+ Programs

Fitness+ is launching “Strong Through Menopause,” a three-week program featuring guided Yoga and Strength workouts aimed at helping people navigating perimenopause and menopause build strength, improve mobility and balance, and manage stress.

Apple is also adding a new “Time to Walk” episode featuring actor Busy Philipps, who shares personal stories about her own experiences with perimenopause.

When You Can Try It

All of these features are available now for developers to test through the Apple Developer Program, with a public beta expected to arrive next month. For everyday users eager to explore the full slate of iOS 27 features, the wider rollout will follow later this year.