This year's WWDC keynote was different in both tone and pace. Apple focused on performance and stability improvements, new parental controls, and, of course, Siri AI and Apple Intelligence. Unlike previous years, there was no dedicated section for improvements in iOS 27 or new features in macOS 27 Golden Gate, as you'd usually expect. As such, many new and interesting upcoming features did not get the spotlight they perhaps deserved. Instead, they ended up as footnotes on Apple's WWDC Preview pages. Here, I've compiled 20 such features I think are worth a shoutout. If you watched WWDC, these are the features you didn't hear about:
You can independently manage volume for ringer, media, and alarms
With iOS 27, Apple will finally let you set distinct volume levels for your ringtone, media, and alarms. The Sounds & Haptics screen in Settings lets you manage all three volumes independently. By default, they're all the same, so disable the "Match Ringtime Volume" in the alarms and alerts section to define different volume levels for each.
You can dismiss the Now Playing widget
The Now Playing widget on the Lock Screen is now completely in your control. You can swipe left on the widget to reveal the new Clear button. Once the widget is cleared, the playback continues, but you can control it from the Control Center rather than the Lock Screen. To bring it back, just change the audio source.
You can create a QR code for any supported membership
The Wallet app has a new "Create a Pass" feature that lets you convert physical passes, like a membership card with a barcode or an event ticket, into a digital pass. This generates a QR code that you can scan anywhere you'd scan your physical pass, and it will unlock the same privileges. Once added, they also show up on the Apple Watch.
Video in Podcasts comes to Mac and TV
Apple TV and tvOS barely got a mention in the keynote, but there is an interesting new feature for people who love watching video podcasts. The Podcasts app on Apple TV and the Mac will add video podcast support, something the iPhone and iPad apps already have.
There are extra-large widgets for the iPhone home screen
Apple has a new "Extra Large" widget size that can take up your iPhone's entire Home Screen. Not all apps support it, but Calendar and Weather currently look great. Developers will be able to tap into this feature as well, so keep an eye on third-party widgets over time for this new size.
You can save video frames as images
You can now stop taking screenshots in videos just to save a single frame. After updating, open a video, pause at the frame you want to capture, then to the Edit menu. Here, tap Menu, then choose Save Video Frame as Photo. The frame will be added to your library, with the proper metadata (something you don't get when you screenshot a video). The Photos app can also generate captions for videos that you've recorded, all on-device.
More Apple apps support landscape mode
Is this a sign of the upcoming Apple Fold? Apple has reworked quite a few of its existing apps to run better in landscape mode on the iPhone. Activity and Weather look the best in landscape mode in my opinion, but Find My, Health, and Music all have landscape modes, too. The latter also supports switching between songs by swiping.
There's a new dynamic UI for setting timers
When you tap the Timer control in Control Center, you will now see a new scrubber layout in the Dynamic Island. You can swipe left or right to change the timer duration.
There are new location-sharing options and a redesigned Apple Watch Find My app
The Find My app on the iPhone has a new, overhauled interface for location sharing built for customization. There are granular tools for selecting how long you want to share your location with your family members, and a new option that lets you hide your location for the day, without notifying your family members. Apple also redesigned Find My on watchOS with a focus on the map interface. The app will now show a map and location for devices and people, rather than a simple list, and you also get the new location-sharing features found in the iPhone app.
Minimize the clock on the iPhone lock screen
If you don't like seeing iOS' big clock on the Lock Screen and would rather see your wallpaper, Apple has a solution. When you customize the Lock Screen, there's now an option to minimize the clock, moving it into the much smaller top line. You can't totally get rid of it, but the focus will be on your wallpaper, not the time.
You can paste suggestions in the keyboard
After updating, when you copy text or an image to your clipboard, then pull up the keyboard, you'll see a suggestion for pasting that clipboard data with just a tap.
New Connectivity Assist toggle
Apple upgraded its Wi-Fi Assist feature with a new name and better reliability. The new Connectivity Assist feature is much faster at managing both wifi and cellular data networks together, so you won't experience a massive drop in connectivity when you leave your home or work.
Use the same number on two iPhones
In a future update, Apple will let you share the same phone number between two iPhones. If you find yourself needing two devices, but don't want to pay for two cellular plans, this might be the feature for you. We don't have details on this feature yet, and the specifics might depend on the network carrier.
You can scrub through songs in CarPlay
CarPlay on iOS 27 now lets you scrub through songs on your car's display, like you can on the iPhone. Apple is also adding support for video apps on CarPlay—though, of course, they will only work when your car is parked.
External monitors get upgrades on macOS 27
macOS 27 adds improved support for high-end ultrawide monitors. There's now native support for 5K 120Hz ultrawide monitors, and macOS will remember your window layout on your ultrawide monitor, so you won't have to recreate your workspace each time you reconnect. This is a big win for the ultrawide monitor fans on macOS.
Find out which wifi tech you're using
Is your router actually using the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, or is it on 6e? Apple added a new "Wi-Fi Type" section to Settings to help you find out exactly which Wi-Fi standard you're connected to.
The notch no longer hides menu bar items on the Mac
Currently, when you have more than a couple of menu bar apps, they're automatically pushed behind the notch, and you can't access them without using third-party utilities. Now, Apple will show an arrow icon when there are hidden menu bar apps. Clicking it will show the menu bar apps on the left-hand side of the notch.
Sidecar on the iPad finally supports touch input
In macOS 27, Apple enabled touchscreen support for iPad's Sidecar feature. Now, you can use your fingers to tap around macOS, open menus, and more. Previously, this only worked with the Apple Pencil. It may be a small improvement for iPad users, but also a sign of Apple's upcoming touchscreen MacBook.
iPhone mirroring now supports window resizing
You can now resize the window for iPhone apps running on the Mac via the iPhone mirroring feature. You can expand an app window to make it iPad-sized. It's quite handy, and perhaps another omen for the iPhone Fold?
Pull-to-refresh comes to the Mac
Safari and Mail on macOS 27 now support the iPhone's pull-to-refresh feature. When you're at the top of the page, you can simply pull down with your trackpad to refresh the page. Similarly, you can refresh your inbox in the Mail app by pulling down on the page.
