This week, we get a major look at iOS 27 (kind of) and Apple might have finally found a way to combat phone theft. 

iOS 27 has leaked...

With WWDC just 11 days away, Bloomberg dropped what amounts to the biggest iOS 27 leak yet. Mark Gurman published a series of renders showing the redesigned Siri interface, a new dedicated Siri app, changes to the Camera app, and a revamped "Search or Ask" feature that replaces the current Spotlight search. If you've been wondering what iOS 27 is actually going to look and feel like, this is the closest we've got.

It's important to be clear about what these images actually are. They're not screenshots from an iPhone running iOS 27. They're renders created by Bloomberg's team based on information from sources inside Apple and, according to Bloomberg, things that Gurman's team have directly seen. Apple often tests multiple designs internally, so the final version unveiled on June 8th could still differ. But this is as close to an official preview as we've ever had from a news outlet less than two weeks before a keynote.

Now, on to what the renders actually show. And I have to say, having looked at them closely, I'm really excited for WWDC now.

My biggest concern heading into this year was how Apple planned to take AI, and specifically the Gemini integration, and make it feel like it belonged on an iPhone. The risk was always that it would feel like they'd just slapped a chatbot on top of iOS and called it a day. Based on what Bloomberg is showing, that hasn't happened. The new Siri app has a dark interface by default with an "Ask Siri" text field at the bottom, a microphone button for voice, and a paperclip icon for attaching images and files. It supports full back-and-forth conversations with message history that you can set to auto-expire. It looks clean, it looks minimal, and crucially, it looks like something Apple designed from the ground up rather than something borrowed from OpenAI or Google.

Beyond the dedicated app, Siri is being woven throughout the system in ways that could be genuinely useful. The renders show Siri living inside the Dynamic Island as an always-available agent, with the ability to understand what's on your screen and act on it. This is where it gets exciting for me, because the practical applications are exactly the kind of thing I've been hoping Apple would focus on. Being able to highlight text and have Siri rewrite it without opening a separate app. Being able to dictate something and have it cleaned up and dropped straight into an email, a note, or a message. Being able to say "draft a reply to this" and have it actually appear in the email you're looking at, rather than generating text in one place that you then have to copy and paste into another. If Apple has nailed this kind of seamless, in-context AI assistance, that's a bigger deal than any chatbot app.

The Camera integration is interesting and unexpected. According to the renders, the Camera app will have a dedicated Siri mode sitting alongside Photo, Video, Portrait, and Panorama. When you switch to it, the shutter button changes to the Apple Intelligence logo, and you can point your camera at something and ask Siri about it. It's not how I expected Apple to do visual intelligence, I assumed it would stay within the existing Visual Intelligence feature, but putting it directly in the Camera app means it's one swipe away rather than buried in a separate flow. Whether it ends up being a genuinely useful daily tool or an awkward distraction remains to be seen, but I'm curious rather than sceptical, which is more than I could say about most Apple Intelligence features up to this point.

There's also a redesigned search experience called "Search or Ask" that replaces Spotlight and merges traditional device search with Siri's conversational abilities. The interface shows frequently used apps, recent web searches, weather, and shortcuts, with the ability to type a question and get a full AI-powered response without leaving the search view. It's a smart move that makes Siri feel less like a separate feature and more like part of how the phone works.

We're 11 days out from WWDC, and for the first time in a while, I'm genuinely looking forward to what Apple has to show us. The renders suggest a version of AI integration that's thoughtful, restrained, and deeply embedded in the operating system rather than bolted on top. If what ships in September looks anything like what Bloomberg is showing, this could be the update that finally makes Apple Intelligence feel real.

You watch the videos... but how much do you actually remember? 

If you’re anything like most people who watch my YouTube videos, or read The Daily Swipe, you’ve probably watched loads of iPhone tips videos over the years, bookmarked a few, saved some to Watch Later… and then completely forgotten where that useful tip was when you actually needed it.

That’s exactly why I created iPhone Essentials Plus.

It’s a searchable, step-by-step iPhone guide designed to help you feel more confident using the phone you already own, without having to remember which random YouTube video something appeared in.

Every lesson includes a short video, a simple guide with screenshots, and a downloadable PDF, so whether you prefer watching, reading, or quickly looking something up, you’re covered.

It’s a one-time purchase with lifetime access, no subscription, and all future updates included.

If you’ve ever thought:

“I know Tom showed me how to do this somewhere…”

this was built for exactly that.

Purchase Links; 

• iPhone Battery Made Easy
• iPhone Essentials Plus
• Mac Essentials Plus 
• iPhone & Mac Essentials Plus Discount Bundle

Your iPhone might be about to get MUCH harder to steal

If you live in a city, you've probably thought about this at least once. You're walking down the street, phone in hand, and someone on a bike or an e-scooter grabs it straight out of your fingers and disappears before you've even processed what happened. In London alone, nearly 300 phones are stolen every day, and snatch thefts have been rising sharply across major cities worldwide. The problem isn't just losing the phone. It's that the phone was unlocked when it was taken, which means the thief has immediate access to your emails, your bank apps, your photos, and your passwords.

Apple is reportedly developing a feature to tackle exactly this, and it could arrive as soon as iOS 27.

According to 9to5Mac, which found evidence of the feature in code, Apple is working on an anti-snatch system that uses the iPhone's built-in accelerometer and gyroscope to detect the specific motion pattern of a phone being yanked from someone's hand. If the sensors determine it was a snatch rather than, say, you pulling it out of your pocket, the iPhone would instantly lock itself and activate Stolen Device Protection. That means Face ID or Touch ID would be required to unlock it, biometric authentication would be needed to access stored passwords or credit cards, and there would be a built-in one-hour delay before anyone could change your Apple Account password or turn off Find My iPhone.

Here's where it gets clever. If you own an Apple Watch, the system can reportedly use the distance between your watch and your iPhone as an additional signal. If your iPhone suddenly starts moving away from your wrist at speed, that's a pretty strong indication that you're not the one carrying it. Combine that with the accelerometer data and you've got a system that can distinguish between a theft and someone just tossing their phone to a friend across the room.

Google already offers something similar on Android called Theft Detection Lock, so Apple isn't first here. But given the scale of the snatch theft problem, particularly in European cities, this feels like one of those features that should have existed years ago. It's also a good example of the kind of AI and sensor work that Apple does well: using the hardware that's already in your pocket to solve a real, everyday problem without requiring the user to do anything.

No official word from Apple on timing, but the code is apparently under active development and WWDC is 11 days away. If it lands in iOS 27, it'll be one of those features that nobody will ever think about until the moment they need it, and then they'll be very glad it was there.

Tip of the week

Did you know your iPhone photos carry hidden GPS data showing exactly where they were taken? To strip it before sharing, open the photo, tap the Share Button, then tap Options at the top of the share sheet and toggle off Location. The version you send goes out clean while your original keeps its data intact. Worth doing any time you share a photo outside your immediate circle.