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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Apple promises more seamless device connectivity in iOS 27.
- Expect quicker network transitions and more intuitive iMessage prioritization.
- These fixes to baseline functions are more useful than they sound.
Though AI-powered Siri upgrades were the underlying theme of nearly every new feature announced during WWDC, some of the more interesting perks were much less talked about. Apple announced two small but meaningful enhancements to your iPhone's performance that will be included in iOS 27, to be released this fall.
Also: Every iPhone model that supports the iOS 27 update (and which older ones don't)
Improvements to device network transitions and how your iPhone will prioritize sending messages over weak cellular networks are far more exciting to me than Siri AI. Here's why.
Network transitions
Apple said that iOS 27 includes advancements in device performance, including swifter network transitions. Typically, switching your iPhone between Wi-Fi and cellular networks requires opening the Control Center to manually turn off Wi-Fi. Doing so can reduce the risk of a connectivity lapse.
This connectivity lapse happens to me often when I'm on a hands-free phone call with my AirPods connected to my iPhone and trying to leave my house to run an errand. In my garage, my phone is still connected to my home Wi-Fi network, but as soon as I pull out of my driveway, my call drops because it loses Wi-Fi connection and doesn't default to cellular quickly enough. As a result, my call fails, and I have to redial.
Instead of proactively turning off my phone's Wi-Fi and making a call over cellular before leaving my house, more intuitive network transitions may minimize or eliminate this pain point for me.
iMessage prioritization
Sending a large file over iMessage, such as a video, when your connection is weak or unstable, can derail the flow of a message thread, especially if you want to send a text immediately after. Usually, when you send a large file over a weak connection, your phone will prioritize sending the large message before the smaller, more easily transmitted one.
During Apple's keynote, an animation exhibited an improvement to this issue, showing that larger messages that take longer to send will not supersede smaller ones. Therefore, you can continue to text an individual or in a group chat while your larger message uploads.
Also: iOS 27's Shortcuts upgrade makes automations easy to build - and will save me so much time
I'll find this feature particularly useful during vacations and work trips when cellular or Wi-Fi networks are weak or overcrowded. On vacation, I can send my parents a proof-of-life selfie and still update them with a follow-up text that I'm safe, without waiting for my selfie to send.
During work conferences, when hundreds of people are on the same cellular or Wi-Fi network, I can text my coworkers photos and videos and converse with them while I wait for my media to send.
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