Apple Unveils Numerous App and Service Upgrades at WWDC Beyond Siri

While Apple’s new Siri AI and Apple Intelligence announcements dominated the WWDC spotlight earlier this month, the tech giant also packed iOS 27 with a number of upgrades across its everyday apps and services, including smarter bill splitting in Apple Wallet, new ways to share locations in Find My, and improved Apple Maps features.

Apple Maps

Apple introduced an improvement to “Flyover,” the feature that provides immersive 3D views of cities and landmarks. The feature has been refreshed with more detailed visuals and smoother navigation.

The company also launched “Local Lists,” a new way for users to discover and save recommendations for restaurants, attractions, and other spots within Maps by seeing what’s trending. This could be Apple’s way to entice users away from using third-party apps for local exploration, like Google Maps or even Instagram and TikTok.

Find My

Find My is becoming more flexible with new location-sharing controls. Beginning this fall, users will be able to share their location for a custom amount of time, whether that’s a few minutes, several hours, multiple days, or until a specific date and time.

Apple is also adding the ability to temporarily pause location sharing with individual contacts until the end of the day. The changes are designed for various situations, like keeping a surprise birthday party under wraps.

Apple Wallet

Apple Wallet is getting a significant boost. One of the standout additions allows users to scan receipts using their iPhone camera and automatically split bills with friends using Apple Cash. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the feature can identify individual items on a receipt, calculate each person’s share of taxes and tips, and facilitate repayment directly through Messages or Wallet.

Wallet is also gaining support for digitizing physical membership and loyalty cards. Users can simply point their iPhone camera at a barcode or scan a digital card to save it directly into Wallet. Support is extending to Apple Watch, so passes can even be pinned to the Apple Watch Smart Stack for faster retrieval.

Travelers will benefit from a revamped hotel key experience. In addition to unlocking rooms and amenities with an iPhone or Apple Watch, guests staying at participating hotels and resorts will be able to access trip details, activity schedules, service information, and real-time updates directly within Wallet.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is receiving a redesigned checkout experience online and in apps. Users will be able to swipe between payment cards more easily while viewing information such as rewards balances, debit account balances, and available pay-later options. Later this year, Apple says users will also be able to add funds directly to eligible debit cards through Wallet or during Apple Pay checkout.

For merchants, Apple is expanding “Tap to Pay” on iPhone with a new feature called “Tap to Share.” Customers can connect directly with participating merchants using a simple tap to securely share information such as loyalty accounts, shipping addresses, and contact details.

Apple Music

Apple Music is expanding the “Lyrics Translation” feature to support seven additional language pairings, including English translations for songs in French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, and Japanese. “Lyrics Pronunciation” will now help users sing along to songs in languages they may not speak by displaying phonetically translated lyrics across five new language pairings.

The “AutoMix” feature, which automatically creates smoother transitions between songs, is being enhanced with more immersive mixes and is expanding beyond iPhone to Apple TV and HomePod. Apple Music subscribers are also getting access to Hi-Res Lossless Audio on Apple TV 4K, allowing users with compatible sound systems to experience studio-quality audio through tvOS.

Apple Podcasts

Podcast listeners are getting a few welcome upgrades. A new “search within show” feature allows users to search directly through episodes of a specific podcast across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the web. Apple is also bringing video podcasts to both Mac and Apple TV, reflecting the growing popularity of video-first podcasting.

iCloud Shared Albums

Apple is introducing full-resolution photo sharing, support for additional file types, emoji reactions, improved activity feeds, and the ability to view activity on a per-album basis. Plus, new temporary albums are designed for short-term projects and events, allowing groups to collaborate without permanently taking up iCloud storage.

Notably, people without Apple devices will also be able to contribute photos through the web.

Fitness+

Fitness+ is launching “Strong Through Menopause,” a three-week program featuring guided Yoga and Strength workouts designed to help people navigating perimenopause and menopause build strength, improve mobility and balance, and manage stress. Apple is also adding a new “Time to Walk” episode featuring actor Busy Philipps, who shares personal stories about her experiences with perimenopause.