Apple pushed out the first beta of iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2 on September 16, and buried inside it is a feature iPad owners have been asking for since Siri AI launched. The lightweight, floating version of the new Siri interface has finally made its way to iPad.
The feature was spotted by X user @itspdfu, who shared a video showing the new interface pulling up contextual actions over an Apple.com store page. Apple has not published its own iPadOS 27.2 beta 1 release notes detailing the feature separately, but the beta build confirms it works exactly as shown.
A Floating Siri Bar Now Appears on The Screen
When you select text, specially on with an a location, contact information or a phone number, a small Siri icon appears. When clicked or tapped, an “Ask Siri” search field appears directly on the page, next to quick action buttons for Message, Add to Contacts, and Open in Maps.
None of this requires opening the full Siri app or waiting for a separate results screen. The bar reads what is on screen and offers actions tied to that specific content, the same contextual awareness Siri AI already uses on iPhone and Mac.
Apple Pencil Hover Will Bring this Feature to iPhone Duo Too
The floating interface triggers with a mouse, a trackpad, or an Apple Pencil hovering over text fields or selected text. Apple is bringing the same trigger to iPhone Duo through Apple Pencil hover support.
This is not a brand new interface Apple built from scratch for iPad. The same lightweight bar has been running on Mac since macOS 27.0 developer beta 4, however, it has been hidden by default, even in the latest macOS 27.2 beta.
Siri AI itself still needs an Apple Intelligence compatible chip to function. On iPad, that means an M1 chip or the iPad mini with A17 Pro at minimum, so older base model iPads won’t see this bar no matter which beta they run.
The Same Beta Also Expands Siri AI to Five More Languages
iOS 27.2 beta 1 adds French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish language support for Siri AI, which launched as English only earlier this month. Apple had originally said those languages were coming in October, so their early appearance in developer testing puts them ahead of schedule.
Our Take
This is the fix iPad needed since Siri AI started appearing in beta builds. Pulling up the full Siri app for a quick action always felt heavier than it needed to be on a device people use for quick, in-context tasks like browsing store pages or filling out forms. Matching the Mac’s floating bar makes Siri AI feel consistent across Apple’s lineup instead of iPad getting a scaled down version.
