A significant change is on the way for iPhone and iPad users with the release of iOS 27. Apple is redefining the way the Notification Center, present on devices since iOS 5 in 2011 as a chronological repository of app alerts, will be accessed.
This change marks the predominance of Siri artificial intelligence, which now controls the main swipe gesture present at the top of the screen on both iPhones and iPads.
Initially, access to the Notification Center remains the same on iOS 27 and iPadOS 27. However, when activating Siri features, a crucial swipe gesture changes for users of both devices.
One of the options to activate Siri, once configured, will be to slide your finger from top to bottom from the central part of the top edge of your iPhone or iPad screen. Interestingly, this same gesture will also continue to open the Notification Center.
The Notification Center, however, can still be accessed by swiping down from the top left corner of the screen, a feature that remains available even with Siri activated.
The priority that Apple gives to accessing its artificial intelligence, Siri, is evident, with most of the upper area of the screen now reserved for activating this new experience.
Historically, Apple had already promoted a similar reconfiguration of access to the Control Center, which migrated from a bottom swipe to a swipe in the upper right corner with the launch of the iPhone X, a change that, at the time, was unified for all devices. This new change in iOS 27 follows a pattern of how the company has evolved user interaction, often challenging established habits to introduce new features and interfaces, especially now with the intense focus on AI.
In this way, the Notification Center appears to be transferred to a more secondary position. Especially on iPads, the upper area above the application icons on the home screen will be almost entirely dedicated to activating Siri, and the space to access notifications may even be reduced if the time or date display settings are deactivated.
Considering that users have developed a “motor habit” over 15 years for previous access, it will take time to assess whether this transformation is justified or will require future revision. However, the first evaluations of Apple’s new AI system, Siri, are quite encouraging, suggesting an adaptation phase not only for gestures, but also for the perception of an improved Siri.
