Translucent Liquid Glass menus and persistent Siri archives dominate the new iOS 27 release, prompting Apple to add granular controls for interface opacity and chat retention.
Users who find the default see-through design difficult to read can adjust the translucent effect by opening Settings > Appearance > Liquid Glass, CNET reported. Dragging the slider to the right increases tint and opacity, making buttons and text easier to distinguish from background wallpaper.
“[W]ith iOS 27, you now get more control over exactly how transparent the interface looks,” said Patrick Holland, CNET reporter.
For users requiring even higher contrast, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and enable Reduce Transparency to make backgrounds solid across the operating system. This toggle overrides standard Liquid Glass appearance controls.
Siri Conversation Retention
The updated Siri AI features a dedicated application that syncs chat histories across iCloud devices, preserving conversations indefinitely by default. Users can manage this storage by going to Settings > Siri > Keep Conversations and selecting either 30 Days or 1 Year to trigger automatic deletions.
Additional controls allow users to configure the Siri app to open with a blank chat rather than recent history. The Siri AI features require an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone Air, or iPhone 16 and later models.
Writing Assistance Controls
Apple places a new Write with Siri button above the keyboard in applications such as Mail, Messages, and Notes for drafting and proofreading text. Users who prefer to disable these AI writing tools can access Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Enabling the restriction and selecting Siri > Writing Assistance > Don’t Allow removes access to the writing tools across the device. Restoring the feature requires returning to the same menu to select Allow.
Voice Activation Adjustments
Apple allows users to invoke the assistant using the single-word command “Siri” instead of the traditional phrase. To prevent accidental activations during conversations or video playback, users can open Settings > Siri > Talk to Siri and select “Hey Siri”.
Automatic Video Subtitles
iOS 27 automatically displays subtitles on videos in Safari, Photos, and other applications utilizing the native video player. Playback controls allow users to tap the More Controls button to turn subtitles off for individual videos.
Disabling automatic triggers globally requires opening Settings > Accessibility > Subtitles & Captioning and turning off features such as When Languages Don’t Match, Show When Muted, or Show on Skip Back.
iPhone Models and Settings for Siri AI and Liquid Glass
Which iPhone models support the new Siri AI features in iOS 27?
The Siri AI tools require an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone Air, or iPhone 16 and later.
How do you stop Siri from saving chat histories permanently?
Users can go to Settings > Siri > Keep Conversations and select a retention period of 30 Days or 1 Year.
Where is the control to adjust interface opacity for Liquid Glass?
The opacity slider is located under Settings > Appearance > Liquid Glass.
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