Apple expands Siri languages in iOS 27.2
Apple’s latest iPhone and iPad update adds five Siri languages in beta, new app features, and more than 160 security fixes.
Apple has started rolling out iOS 27.2 for iPhones and iPads, combining new AI features with a long list of security fixes. The most visible change is broader language support for Siri AI, but the release also adds tools for Messages, FaceTime, Apple Pencil, and live sports viewing. Apple also says the update includes more than 160 security fixes, including one it describes as protection against an extremely sophisticated attack on specific people.
The release matters for more than convenience. Apple is trying to make Siri more useful while closing security gaps across its devices, and, as IT-PUB News notes, one of the patched flaws was serious enough to be backported to older systems, including iOS 18. That suggests Apple sees the issue as important for a wider group of users.
Siri AI adds five more languages in beta
The headline feature in iOS 27.2 is expanded language support for Siri AI. Apple says the assistant now works in French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, though the feature remains in beta.
Apple is also pushing Siri toward a more memory-based experience. According to the company, the assistant can now remember details from earlier conversations and respond with that context in mind. That puts Apple in the same broader race as other AI developers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, which have also been improving how their assistants recall user preferences and past choices.
The update goes beyond simple chat responses. Siri can now use information from sources such as photos attached in Messages, calendar event attendees, voicemails, Safari history, and reading lists. Apple also says users can choose which apps should be excluded from Siri AI’s memory.
That control may matter to people who want a more personal assistant without giving it access to everything on their device. At the same time, the feature raises a familiar trade-off: the more context an assistant has, the more useful it can be — and the more sensitive data it may need to handle.
Messages and FaceTime gain practical new features
iOS 27.2 also brings changes to Apple’s communication apps. In Messages, users will get suggestions to turn a message into a reminder or a calendar event. Apple is also adding the ability to edit captions or add comments in Shared Albums, along with reminders about when a folder expires.
FaceTime is getting a broader update. Apple says the new version includes Dual Capture for group calls, allowing streaming from both the front and rear cameras at the same time. The company is also adding support for a third-party sign language interpreter or live captioner in a call.
These are practical additions rather than flashy ones, but they fit Apple’s wider effort to make its built-in apps more useful for everyday communication. The FaceTime changes may be especially important for accessibility, since live captioning and sign language support can make calls easier to follow for more people.
Apple Pencil support comes to the foldable iPhone Duo
Apple is also adding new features for the foldable iPhone Duo, even as the device is still dealing with display-related problems for early buyers. The update adds Apple Pencil support in apps such as Notes and Preview.
Apple is also bringing the Edge Light effect to the device, designed to help highlight a person’s face better during video calls.
The move shows Apple continuing to expand software support even while some early hardware issues remain unresolved. For users, that means the foldable is gaining more practical uses. It also underlines the tension between new device launches and the problems that can come with them, especially when buyers are still dealing with display concerns.
Multiview adds more live sports options
Another addition in iOS 27.2 is Multiview on iPhone. Apple says users can now watch up to four live sports streams at once on Apple TV, including Major League Soccer (MLS), Formula 1 (F1) in the U.S., and Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders during the Major League Baseball (MLB) season.
Apple also says viewers can watch multiple F1 feeds during a broadcast.
The feature is aimed at people following several live events at the same time who want a single-screen view instead of switching between streams. It is a more niche addition than Siri or the security updates, but it reflects how phone software is increasingly shaped around media use as well as communication.
More than 160 security fixes may matter most
Apple says iOS 27.2 includes more than 160 security fixes. The company also says many of those bug fixes were backported so people using the older iOS 26 software can benefit from them as well.
That matters because Apple says around 80% of iPhone owners are still running iOS 26. A large share of users may not move to the latest version right away, so patching older software is a practical way to reduce risk.
Apple also backported a specific bug fix to iOS 18, the version first released in 2024. The company says the flaw may have been exploited “in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 27.”
Apple did not say who was behind the exploitation. Its wording is the kind the company typically uses when a phone may have been compromised by government spyware or a law enforcement forensic device, but in this case it did not provide details. Even without those specifics, the language suggests this was not a routine maintenance patch, but a fix tied to a more serious security concern.
For many users, that may be the most important part of the release. The new Siri features and app changes are easier to notice, but the security side is likely the most consequential part of the update for the average iPhone owner.
