Apple’s first feature-focused iPadOS 27 update adds conversational memory, wider access to personal data and easier multitasking, alongside new app features.
Apple has released iPadOS 27.2 for supported iPads, delivering the first feature-focused update since iPadOS 27 and bringing the tablet software into line with the broader 27.2 family of releases. The update centres on Siri, multitasking and a handful of app refinements that make the iPad feel more consistent with Apple’s other platforms.
The most substantial changes are in Siri AI. According to reports on the new release, Siri can now remember details from earlier conversations, allowing users to return to topics raised previously, such as a restaurant recommendation discussed days earlier. Apple has also widened the assistant’s access to personal context, including photos shared in Messages, Calendar attendees, voicemail content, and Safari history and Reading List. Alongside that, the company has added an Excluded Apps setting, giving users a clearer way to decide which apps Siri, Search and suggestions may access. The assistant also now supports French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.
iPadOS 27.2 also borrows a Siri interaction from the Mac. When text is selected with a trackpad or mouse, a small Siri icon now appears beside the selection, expanding into an “Ask Siri” field with quick actions such as Proofread, Rewrite and “How does this sound?” for editing work. Touch users can still reach Siri through the edit menu. The change is paired with a smaller but useful refinement: Siri responses can now be partially selected and copied, rather than forcing users to take the full answer.
Apple has also made multitasking more fluid. When an app is tiled to the left or right using the window controls or menu bar, the system now prompts the user to choose a second app to fill the remaining side, reducing the friction of setting up split-screen work. There is also a new option in Settings for the “double tap top of window to zoom” gesture, which lets users decide whether a double tap at the top of a window should expand it to full screen, in a manner similar to the Mac’s maximise control.
Beyond system features, the update restores Messages suggestions after Apple removed the feature shortly before iPadOS 27 shipped. It also introduces user profiles to the Apple TV app, so people sharing an iPad can keep separate recommendations, viewing history and age-appropriate restrictions. Photos gains support for edited captions and comments in Shared Albums, duplicate-photo warnings and expiry reminders for shared collections. Apple has also added SynthID watermark support in Photos and Image Playground, reflecting the company’s growing emphasis on identifying images created or altered with generative tools.
Other changes are more modest but still notable. Podcasts now separates the Home tab into New Episodes and Continue Playing. The Friends tab in the Games app explains why it recommends particular people, while profile pages show recently played titles. FaceTime can now work with third-party sign language interpreters or live captioners. Home gains new automation controls for compatible smart locks. Apple Music receives a new monochrome app icon, a visual change that will be hard to miss. In the European Union, meanwhile, users may see an expanded App Tracking Transparency prompt when apps ask for tracking permission.
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