The new software landed early Tuesday, Australian time, and iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 went on sale here on Friday.
iOS 27 and Siri AI are available now
iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 arrived early on Tuesday, along with macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27 and the rest of the 27 family. The headline feature is Siri AI, a more capable, conversational Siri that can draw on your messages, mail and photos, act on what is on screen, and answer a much wider range of questions. There is a dedicated Siri app, or you can still hold the side button.
iOS 27 runs on iPhone 11 and later, but Siri AI needs an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, and you have to join a waitlist in Settings. Some people get access within minutes; others wait hours or days. It is in English to start, and is not available in the EU. macOS 27 also brings Siri AI and Visual Intelligence to the Mac, and a slider in Settings to make Liquid Glass more or less transparent. Apple also seeded the first developer beta of iOS 27.2 this week, including the redesigned Health app shown at last week’s event. Apple has already said that app will not be in the public 27.2 release, so most people will need to wait a little longer.
New tools for families and screen time
The same update brings new child safety features. Parents can set Time Allowances across categories such as Social Media, Entertainment and Games, approve new Safari sites with Ask to Browse, and use a redesigned Screen Time view to change access in one tap. Communication Safety now blocks gore and violent content as well as nudity, including in live FaceTime calls. Every device in a Family Sharing group needs to be on the 27 software for the Screen Time changes to work.
iPhone 18 Pro, Watch and AirPods 5 are in stores
iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 went on sale on Friday, 18 September, in Apple Stores and online. The 18 Pro starts at $2,099 including GST, and the 18 Pro Max at $2,299, in black, silver, glacier and burgundy. Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $649, Ultra 4 at $1,349, and AirPods 5 at $219, or $249 with the Wireless Charging Case. Afterpay Pay Monthly is available on the new iPhones in Apple Stores, online and in the Apple Store app, with 6-, 12- and 24-month terms for eligible customers.
A modem split on the US Pro Max
Apple updated its spec pages to settle a confusion about cellular modems. The iPhone 18 Pro uses Apple’s C2 modem in every country, and so does the 18 Pro Max — except in the United States, where the Pro Max still uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80. Australian stock is not affected.
What to watch next week
The new Mac mini and Mac Studio are due on Tuesday, 22 September. Pre-orders have been open since late August. iPhone Duo pre-orders follow in mid-October.
