Apple's iOS 27 update is set to make your iPhone's action button much more powerful

Apple’s iOS 27 update is adding a powerful upgrade to your iPhone’s tiniest secret weapon – the action button.

The customizable button already saves users time every day, but Apple is about to give it an AI powered upgrade.

Instead of spending ages creating complicated automations, you’ll soon be able to describe exactly what you want your iPhone to do in plain English.

That means even people who have never touched the Shortcuts app could start creating powerful custom commands with just a few words.

Apple’s iOS 27 update makes the Action Button smarter than ever

The Action Button first appeared on the iPhone 15 Pro, replacing the traditional Ring/Silent switch with a customizable button that can launch all kinds of different functions, and it’s been on all the iPhone gadgets since.

Users can already assign it to open the camera, switch on the flashlight, launch apps or run custom shortcuts.

But building more advanced shortcuts has always required digging into Apple’s Shortcuts app, which can be confusing if you’ve never used it before.

According to reports, iOS 27 introduces a new Apple Intelligence feature called ‘Describe a Shortcut’.

Rather than piecing together actions one by one, users can simply type what they want to happen.

For example, asking it to ‘set an alarm for 9am’ will automatically generate the shortcut.

Even more complex requests, like turning on Silent Mode, enabling Color Filters, and starting a Pomodoro timer, can all be created from a single prompt before being assigned to the Action Button.

Apple Intelligence could make iPhone automation mainstream

The feature is currently available in Apple’s iOS 27 beta, although the software is still being tested ahead of its wider release.

It’s another example of Apple using artificial intelligence to make existing features much easier to use rather than introducing something completely new.

For millions of iPhone owners, the Action Button has been one of the device’s most overlooked features simply because unlocking its full potential requires a bit of technical know-how, and it’s tiny.

If Apple Intelligence can build those shortcuts automatically, your iPhone’s little button could become one of the most useful features on the entire phone and save you seconds upon seconds.