Got a tip for us?

The Complete Guide to Every iOS 27 Feature

How to make and answer calls with AirPods 3, AirPods 4, AirPods 5, or AirPods Pro

by Abigail Shilets

With AirPods 3, AirPods 4, AirPods 5, or AirPods Pro, you can make and answer calls, mute or unmute yourself, and decline an incoming call. You can answer a second call, too. If you’ve got AirPods 4, AirPods 5, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3, Voice Isolation can enhance voice quality and remove background noise for the listener.

Make and answer calls

  1. Wear your AirPods, and make sure they’re connected to your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch (with cellular or Wi-Fi).
  2. Do one of the following:

    • Make a call: Say “Hey Siri,” or press and hold the force sensor or force sensor with volume swipe and then say something like, “Call Eliza’s mobile.” On an iPad without cellular, say something like, “Make a FaceTime call.”

      You can also make a call on your device, such as in the FaceTime app or Phone app.

    • Answer a call: Press the stem once on either of your AirPods.

      If you have AirPods 4, AirPods 5, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3, you can nod your head up and down to answer a call, or shake your head side to side to decline a call. See Use controls and gestures with your AirPods.

      AirPods 4 are shown. One of the AirPods is being pinched on the stem.

      AirPods 4

      AirPods Pro are shown. One of the AirPods is being pinched on the stem.

      AirPods Pro

    • End a call: Double-press the stem on either of your AirPods.

You can also answer or decline a call using your voice once you turn on Announce Calls.

Mute or unmute during a call

During a call, press the stem once on either of your AirPods.

In some apps, like FaceTime, you’ll hear a sound and see a message telling you if the microphone’s on or off.

Decline an incoming call

You can decline an incoming phone call and send it straight to voicemail when your AirPods are connected to an iPhone.

When you receive an incoming call, double-press the stem on either of your AirPods.

Shaking your head side to side declines a call on AirPods 4, AirPods 5, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3. For more head gestures, check out our article, Use controls and gestures with your AirPods.

Answer a second call

  1. When a second call comes in, press the stem to put the first call on hold and answer the new one.
  2. Do any of the following:
    • To switch between calls, press the stem.
    • To end the current call and switch to the one on hold, double-press the stem.

Filter out background sounds during calls with AirPods 4, AirPods 5, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3

During calls on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, Voice Isolation on AirPods 4, AirPods 5, AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods Pro 2 enhances voice quality for the listener and removes background noise, such as wind.

While you’re on a call, you can do one of the following:

  • iPhone or iPad: Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center. Tap FaceTime Controls at the top of the screen, then select Voice Isolation.
  • Mac: Click the Video icon or the Microphone icon in the menu bar (depending on the type of call), click Mic Mode, then select Voice Isolation.

You can switch the controls to end a call and mute or unmute. See Change how you end a call or mute yourself with AirPods 3, AirPods 4, or AirPods Pro or Change how you end a call and mute yourself with AirPods Max.

This guide is for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, watchOS 27, or later.

See also

Tags: FaceTime, Phone
Show Full Article

Understanding playlists in the Music app on iPad

by Moses Johnson

Playlists are custom compilations of songs and music videos, made to suit a specific mood or occasion, to select certain songs to share with others, or to organize your music library, so you might create a playlist to do the following:

  • Suit a specific mood or occasion. For example, you could create a playlist for a dinner party, a wedding, or your morning workout.
  • Select certain songs to share with others on your local network or to sync with your Mac or Windows device.
  • Organize your music library.

A few other types of playlists become available when you subscribe to Apple Music:

Changes you make to your music library (creating playlists or playlist folders, for example) are updated across all your devices when Sync Library is turned on (go to Settings > Apps > Music, then turn on Sync Library). If you’re not an Apple Music subscriber, the changes appear in your library the next time you sync with your computer.

Siri: Ask Siri something like, “Add this song to my Workout playlist” while playing a song or album. Learn how to use Siri.

See also

Tag: Music
Show Full Article

How to get wallpaper suggestions in Photos on iPad

by Emily Long

You can get wallpaper suggestions for your Lock Screen or Home Screen that stylize photos of your favorite people and pets. You just pick one to try it, then customize the Lock Screen with colors, a clock font, and more. You can also change the wallpaper on iPad.

Wallpaper Suggestions is open in the Photos app. Automatically generated combinations of photos, filter effects, and clock face fonts appear as suggestions.

  1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Collections.
  3. Swipe up and tap a suggested wallpaper (below Wallpaper Suggestions).

    To customize the Lock Screen, including choosing colors, clock font, and more, see Create a custom Lock Screen.

See also

Tags: Lock Screen, Photos
Show Full Article

How to use the music player controls on iPhone

by Emily Long

You can play and control music in the Music app in two different ways—the MiniPlayer and the Now Playing screen. The MiniPlayer shows the song that’s currently playing, and the Now Playing screen lets you adjust the volume, scrub to any point in a song, and stream music to Bluetooth® or AirPlay-enabled devices.

Quick tip: To navigate between tracks, swipe left or right across a track’s title in the MiniPlayer or the Now Playing screen.

Use the MiniPlayer

Besides showing the song that’s currently playing, the MiniPlayer can play or pause music and skip to the next track.

The Library tab, showing the MiniPlayer near the bottom. The MiniPlayer shows the title of the song that’s playing. The Pause and Next Track buttons are to the right of the song title. Tap the MiniPlayer to open the Now Playing screen.

Use the controls in the Now Playing screen

The Now Playing screen showing the various controls and buttons.

  1. Open the Music app on your iPhone.
  2. While a song is playing, tap the MiniPlayer to open the Now Playing screen.
  3. Do any of the following:

    • Adjust the volume: Drag the volume slider.

      You can also use the volume buttons on the side of iPhone.

    • Scrub to any point in a song: Drag the playhead.
    • Go to the artist, album, or playlist: Tap the artist name below the song title. Choose an option.
    • Turn animated album cover art on or off: Open Settings, tap Apps and tap Music. Tap Animated Art and choose an option.

Tap any of these buttons for more control over your music:

Control Description
Dismiss Now Playing Screen button Dismiss the Now Playing screen.
Favorite button Mark the song as a favorite.
More button Tap for more options.
Shuffle button Tap to play your songs in random order (shuffle).
Repeat button Tap to repeat an album, playlist, or the entire queue. (Or double-tap to repeat a single song.)
AutoPlay button Tap to use AutoPlay, which adds similar songs and plays them at the end of the queue.
AutoMix button Tap to use AutoMix, which seamlessly transitions between songs, like a DJ. (Available for Apple Music subscribers.)
Crossfade button Tap to use Crossfade, which fades in each song (gradually increase its volume) while the previous song is fading out.
Translation and Pronunciation button Tap when you need help pronouncing or translating the lyrics. This button only appears when a translation or pronunciation is available that matches your iPhone device’s Preferred Languages list. (You can view this list and add languages directly to it in Settings > General > Language & Region.) Not available in all languages.
Previous Track button Go back to the beginning of the song. Tap again to play the previous song in an album or playlist. Touch and hold to rewind through the current song.
Pause button Pause playback.
Play button Play the current song.
Next Track button Skip to the next song. Touch and hold to fast-forward through the current song.
Lyrics button Show time-synced lyrics (lyrics not available for all songs).
Playback Destination button Stream music to Bluetooth or AirPlay-enabled devices.
Playing Next button Show the queue.

Stream music to Bluetooth® or AirPlay-enabled devices

  1. Open the Music app on your iPhone.
  2. While a song is playing, tap the MiniPlayer to open the Now Playing screen.
  3. Tap the Playback Destination button and then choose a device.

Note: The same music can play on multiple AirPlay 2-enabled devices, like two or more HomePod speakers. It’s also possible to pair two sets of AirPods to one iPhone so you and a friend can enjoy the same song or movie together.

Tag: Music
Show Full Article

How to protect your journal entries on iPad

by Stacey Butler

In the Journal app, there are a number of ways you can protect your journal entries. You can lock your journal, sync your journal entries with iCloud, and include them in your iPad backup if you encrypt your backup and store it locally on your computer or external storage device.

Your entries, and any changes you make, show up on your iPad, iPhone, and Mac signed in to the same Apple Account, and Journal entries aren’t included in iCloud backups. With an encrypted backup, you have a copy of your entries in case your iPad is replaced, lost, or damaged.

Keep your entries in sync across your devices with iCloud

Your entries, plus any changes you make to them, show up on any iPad, iPhone, or Mac where you’ve turned on Journal in iCloud settings and signed in to the same Apple Account.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap your name, then tap iCloud.
  3. Tap See All next to Saved to iCloud, then turn on Journal.

How do I back up my journal entries?

If you want your entries included in a backup of your iPad, your iPad backup has to be encrypted and stored locally on your computer or an external storage device. iCloud backups don’t include Journal entries, but you can check that they sync to iCloud in Settings.

With encrypted backups, you’ve got a copy of your entries to use if your iPad is ever lost, damaged, or replaced.

Lock your journal

Keeping your journal private means only you can access it, using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.

A screen that prompts you to use Touch ID to unlock your journal

There are a few ways to lock your journal:

  • From the Home Screen or App Library: See Lock or hide an app.
  • In the Journal app: Above the Insights summary, tap the More button, then tap Lock Journal.
  • In the Settings app: Go to Settings > Apps > Journal, then tap Lock Journal.

See also

Tags: iCloud, Journal
Show Full Article

How to choose an alternative layout for an Apple external keyboard with iPad

by Chris Smith

With an alternative keyboard layout, you can enter letters and marks that are different from the ones on your Apple external keyboard. With the ABC – Extended layout, for example, you can type letters and enter diacritical marks for several European languages and tone marks for Mandarin Chinese in Pinyin.

You just choose an alternative layout for your language from the list. You can switch between keyboards with iPad, too.

  1. Open Settings, tap General, tap Keyboard, and then tap Hardware Keyboard.
  2. Tap a language at the top of the screen. Then choose an alternative layout from the list.

See also

Tag: Keyboard
Show Full Article

What’s new in iPadOS 27 for iPad

by Dave Johnson

iPadOS 27 brings new features to your iPad, and Siri AI (Beta) leads the list. Siri AI is a conversational assistant with broad world knowledge, and your conversations are saved in a dedicated app. New and expanded child safety features make it easier for parents to keep kids safe, and Safari tabs can be automatically grouped into topics. Image Playground, Genmoji, Photos, Phone, Accessibility, Home, Health, and Maps get updates, and a new slider lets you customize how Liquid Glass looks.

Here’s what’s new in iPadOS 27.

Siri AI (Beta).* Siri AI is a conversational assistant with broad world knowledge and personal context understanding. Your conversations are saved in a dedicated app, so you can revisit or continue them. Siri can draw on your personal context to find what you need—like a specific photo, an email buried in your inbox, or a saved note—and take action across your apps, such as drafting an email or editing and sharing a set of photos. Siri writing tools help you generate first drafts, get feedback, and adjust the style and tone of your writing for the audience. See Get started with Siri AI (Beta) on iPad.

Note: Siri AI is available in beta on iPadOS 27 or later on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) or iPad model with M1 or later set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not initially be available in the EU on iPadOS. Usage limits may apply.

An iPad showing Siri answering a request about how to improve a tennis backhand.

Family. New and expanded child safety features make it easier for parents and guardians to keep kids safe on iPad. Setup Assistant lets you choose which apps kids can use. Ask to Browse lets you approve new websites on Safari that your child requests. Communication Safety helps protect children from viewing or sharing images and videos containing detected nudity or gore. See Set up Family Sharing.

Image Playground. Create unique images in a range of new styles with Image Playground, then update them with a description or using touch. See Create original images with Image Playground.

The Image Playground app window showing a created image of a person dressed as a superhero.

Genmoji. Get suggested images based on photos in your library and phrases you commonly type. See Create your own emoji with Genmoji.

Safari. With Apple Intelligence*, your tabs can be automatically grouped into topics, so related pages are easier to find. Create your own extension with just a description to personalize your experience on any website you visit. Notify Me monitors pages for changes—for example, a price change or restock—and alerts you when it’s time to act. See Organize your tabs with Tab Groups, Create your own extension, and Get notified when a website changes.

In Safari, a Tab Group is selected, with previews of its three open tabs visible.

Photos. Apple Intelligence editing tools let you reframe a photo after it’s been taken, extend the borders of a photo, and remove distracting objects with more precision. iCloud Shared Albums support full-resolution sharing, new ways to filter and react to photos in a shared album. You can save any frame from a video as a photo. See Clean up, extend, and reframe photos, Create shared albums, and Save a video frame as a photo.

The Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe buttons next to a photo being edited in the Photos app.

Phone. With Apple Intelligence, Call Context can proactively surface relevant information when you place a call to a business or while you’re on a call—like a confirmation code you get in Mail when you call an airline. See View information when you make a call and View relevant information during a call.

Accessibility. With Apple Intelligence, use the captioning feature to automatically generate synced subtitles and translate existing captions into other languages. VoiceOver includes richer image descriptions and can be accessed using the Action button on supported models. See Display subtitles and captions and Hear what’s on your screen and around you with VoiceOver on iPad.

Home. Apple Intelligence in the Home app combines and streamlines related activity notifications, describes what happened in video footage before you watch, and can search for a video clip based on what happened. See Use Apple Intelligence with Home cameras and notifications.

Liquid Glass. A new slider lets you easily customize how Liquid Glass looks, from ultraclear to fully tinted. See Choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass.

The Liquid Glass screen in Settings. In the middle of the screen is a slider to increase or decrease the level of Liquid Glass transparency.

Health. Log menopause and perimenopause symptoms in Cycle Tracking. The Health app can notify you when your logged cycle patterns are suggestive of perimenopause and provide educational resources. See Track menopause stages in Health.

Maps. Flyover view uses aerial imagery and Visual Intelligence models to render maps in stunning detail. Local Lists provide relevant collections of locations trending in your area (available in U.S. only). See Explore maps with immersive views.

Learn tricks for iPadOS 27. The Tips app adds new suggestions regularly, so you can get the most from your iPad. See Get tips.

Note: New features and apps may vary depending on your iPad model, region, language, and carrier.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

Tags: Apple Intelligence, iPadOS
Show Full Article

How to use Continuity to work across Apple devices

by Chris Smith

When you use your iPhone with another Apple device, like your Mac, iPad, or Apple Watch, you can take advantage of special Continuity features that let you use your devices in unique ways. You can work across your devices, hand off tasks, share files and photos, stream video and audio, and more.

There’s no additional app you need to install. Continuity features are built directly into your devices’ operating systems and many of the apps you use every day, so you just sign in to the same Apple Account on each device to get started.

Note: Continuity features have minimum system requirements, and some of them require Wi-Fi and Bluetooth®.

A Mac is next to an iPhone. The AirDrop dialog is open on the Mac desktop, ready to share a document with the iPhone. The iPhone screen has a notification about receiving the document.

Quickly share content between devices

Share photos, videos, contacts, and more, with anyone on an Apple device near you. AirDrop makes sharing between iPhone, iPad, and Mac as simple as dragging and dropping. Use AirDrop to send items to nearby Apple devices

A MacBook Pro using an iPhone as a webcam and showing a FaceTime conversation.

Use your iPhone camera with your Mac

You can use your iPhone as your Mac computer’s webcam or microphone with a feature called Continuity Camera. You can also use video effects when using your iPhone as a webcam, like Desk View. Use your iPhone as a webcam on Mac

The iPhone Mirroring app appears on a Mac computer desktop.

Control your iPhone from your Mac

Control your iPhone from your Mac and receive iPhone notifications and Live Activities on your Mac, so you never miss a thing. Control your iPhone from your Mac

Even more Continuity features

Copy and paste Copy text, images, photos, and videos from one Apple device and paste them on another device with Universal Clipboard. Copy and paste between your iPhone and other Apple devices

Hand off tasks Start a task—like creating a document, writing an email, or browsing the web—on one device and pick up where you left off on another device with Handoff. Hand off tasks between your iPhone and your other devices

Insert sketches, photos, and scans Take a picture or scan a document with your iPhone camera and have it appear instantly on your Mac. Insert sketches, photos, and scans from your iPhone on Mac

Stream to a larger screen Share videos, music, photos, and more from your iPhone to your Mac, an Apple TV 4K, or an AirPlay 2-enabled TV. Stream video and audio from your iPhone with AirPlay

Answer calls and send texts from your iPad or Mac Relay calls from your iPhone and send and receive texts on your iPad or Mac. Use iPhone to allow calls and text messages on your iPad and Mac

Share your Wi-Fi Connect your Mac to the internet using the Personal Hotspot on your iPhone. Share your internet connection from your iPhone

Other ways to use your devices together

Continuity features aren’t the only option for using your Mac with your other Apple devices, since you can also:

Note: To use iPhone Mirroring, it must be available in your country or region. iPhone Mirroring isn’t currently available in the European Union.

Tag: Continuity
Show Full Article

How to add earnings reports to your calendar in Stocks on iPad

by Abigail Shilets

You can see when a company has an upcoming earnings report and add it as an event in the Calendar app.

The earnings report is saved as an all-day event, and Calendar sends you a reminder on the day of the report. You can add one for any stock with an upcoming earnings report, and delete the event later.

Here’s how to add earnings reports to your calendar in Stocks on iPad.

Add an earnings report event to your calendar

You can add a stock’s upcoming earnings report in the Calendar app.

  1. Go to the Stocks app on your iPad.
  2. Tap a ticker symbol in your watchlist, or use the search field to search for a symbol.
  3. If an earnings report is upcoming, tap Add to Calendar and tap the Done button.

Calendar saves the earnings report as an all-day event, then sends you an event reminder on the day of the report.

Delete an earnings report event from your calendar

  1. Start the Stocks app on your iPad.
  2. Tap the ticker symbol in your watchlist, or use the search field to search for the symbol.
  3. Tap View to switch to the Calendar app.
  4. In the Calendar app, tap the event, tap Delete Event (you may have to scroll down), and confirm by tapping Delete Event again.

See also

Tags: Calendar, Stocks
Show Full Article

How to share or delete memories in Photos on iPhone

by Dave Johnson

You can share memory movies and the photos and videos that appear in them with friends and family. You can also delete memories and identify content in memories that you’d like to feature less.

You can share a memory movie directly, or play it with AirPlay to watch together. And you can feature people, places, or days in a memory less often.

Here’s how to share or delete memories in Photos on iPhone.

Share a memory movie

You can share a memory movie with friends and family directly, or watch it together by playing it with AirPlay.

  1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Collections.
  3. Swipe left under Memories to scroll through a selection of your memories, or tap Memories to view them all.
  4. Tap the Play button in the bottom-right corner of a memory to play it.
  5. As the memory plays, tap the screen, tap the More button at the top of the screen. Do any of the following:
    • Share a memory using AirDrop, Messages, or Mail: Tap Share, then choose a sharing option.
    • Play on a nearby device using AirPlay: Tap AirPlay and choose an available device.

Share photos and videos from a memory

  1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Collections.
  3. Swipe left under Memories to scroll through a selection of your memories, or tap Memories to view them all.
  4. Tap a memory, then tap Select.
  5. Tap the items you want to share, or tap Select All and then tap the Share button.

Feature people, places, or days in a memory less often

For subjects in a memory you’d like to see less often, like a specific day, a person, or a place, there’s an option to identify them for your memories and featured photos in the Photos app.

  1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Collections.
  3. Swipe left under Memories to scroll through a selection of your memories, or tap Memories to view them all.
  4. Touch and hold a memory, then tap Feature Less.
  5. Depending on the memory, select one of the following:
    • Feature This Day Less
    • Feature This Place Less
    • Feature a Person Less

To reset, open the Photos app, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner, then tap Reset Suggested Memories.

Delete a memory

  1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Collections.
  3. Swipe left under Memories to scroll through a selection of your memories, or tap Memories to view them all.
  4. Touch and hold a memory, then tap Delete Memory.
Tag: Photos
Show Full Article