Since iOS 5 in 2011, the iPhone and iPad have included Notification Center as a central place for alerts in chronological order. Starting with iOS 27, Apple is making a major change to how users open Notification Center after 15 years of consistent behavior.

iOS 27 is currently in beta, with the third developer beta and first public beta showing this change will ship this fall. Enabling Siri AI changes a key swipe gesture: swiping down from the center of the top edge now invokes Siri AI instead of opening Notification Center. Users can still access Notification Center by swiping down from the top-left corner, where alerts now animate in from.

Apple is greatly prioritizing Siri AI access in iOS 27, devoting the majority of the top edge to the new Siri experience. On iPadOS 27 beta 1, the area for Notification Center shrank significantly, but beta 2 created a more uniform region roughly the size of two app columns, with Notification Center on the left and Control Center on the right.

After 15 years of muscle memory, it'll take time to determine if this change is worth it. Early feedback on the new Siri AI system is overwhelmingly positive. iOS 27 is available as a developer and public beta, with official release expected in early September.