Apple is bringing several new features to its Photos app with iOS 27, focusing on AI-powered editing, improved organization, and better sharing options. The update introduces new tools called Extend and Reframe, alongside an upgraded Clean Up feature, giving iPhone users more control over how their pictures look.
A report by 9to5Mac says the changes also include significant improvements to iCloud Shared Albums, new photo collections and customizable slideshows.
Apple Intelligence powers three major editing features in the Photos app. Extend lets users expand an image's boundaries, giving subjects more space without losing important details. It can also straighten crooked horizons or adjust an image's aspect ratio by generating missing portions.
The new Reframe tool lets users change the perspective and composition of an existing photograph. Users can touch and drag an image to preview how its perspective shifts, similar to repositioning the camera in the original scene. Apple uses image models to generate content only in areas where the perspective has changed.
Meanwhile, Clean Up, first introduced with iOS 18, has received a major upgrade. Apple says the tool can now remove distractions with better quality and more realistic results, including in complex scenes.
iOS 27 brings the first major upgrades to iCloud Shared Albums in years. The improvements include:
Full-resolution photos and videos
Shared Albums support for Windows and Android
Reactions using any emoji
Easier photo saving
Expiring Shared Albums
Additional participant permissions
These changes make it easier to share photos with people outside Apple's ecosystem while giving users greater control over shared content.
Also Read: Apple Intelligence Update: Image Playground and Photos Gain Powerful Creative Features
Apple has added two collections under the Photos app's Utilities section. Captured by Me displays pictures taken directly by the user, excluding screenshots and images saved from others.
Identity Documents automatically identifies photographs of important documents, including driving licenses and passports. Users can also add keywords to photographs through a new option available when viewing an image. Existing captions remain available.
Apple has added more controls to Photos slideshows. Users can change transition styles, customize the slideshow duration, and adjust how long individual photographs appear. They can also save a slideshow as a video with a single tap.
While iOS 27 doesn't introduce a major redesign of the Photos app, the new editing, sharing, and organization tools make it a substantial update for iPhone users.