iOS 27 has a fun new animation when you call a contact on their birthday

iOS 27 adds a small birthday-themed tidbit to the Phone app, with a new animation that appears when calling someone on their big day. Here are the details.

As long-time Apple Watch users probably know, watchOS is likely the first to wish them happy birthday every year. At midnight, a “Happy Birthday!” notification appears, accompanied by the same fireworks animation Apple uses to ring in the New Year.

Now, as spotted by X user Tiino-X83, iOS 27 displays the same animation inside a banner when calling a contact whose birthday is saved in the Contacts app.

Interestingly, Apple’s full release notes for watchOS 27 say the Apple Watch Smart Stack will now also surface “birthday reminders for a close contact,” making birthdays a surprisingly recurring theme across the company’s 2027 system updates.

Did you spot any other little tidbits like this in this week’s updates? Let us know in the comments.