A new trick has become a mandatory conversation between technology and social media users: the phrase “Hey Siri, remove the tree” causes an unexpected reaction on the iPhone. These words, apparently meaningless and without official documentation, activate a function that surprises even those who have been using Apple’s voice assistant for years.
Those who try the command for the first time usually react with amazement. Without configuring any shortcuts, without installing additional applications and without resorting to hidden functions, just say those three words and the iPhone will not only listen, but also respond with an unusual question: Are you sure you want to turn off the iPhone?
When you say “Hey Siri, remove the tree,” the voice assistant does not respond with its usual “I don’t understand what you’re asking” or with some generic suggestion. Instead, it triggers the device shutdown process and immediately displays a confirmation window, asking the user to confirm if they really want to turn off the phone.
This behavior has gone viral, especially on TikTok, where users have found in this trick a way to generate curiosity and, sometimes, jokes among friends and family.
The reason behind this reaction is not found in any official Apple document or visible system settings. Since the arrival of iOS 16, Siri has permissions to manage the shutdown of the iPhone natively.
Before that version, to turn off the device with your voice, it was necessary to create a specific shortcut or use the Shortcuts application, but now the system recognizes commands related to turning off directly.
The mystery arises because the phrase “remove the tree” does not, in principle, resemble any documented order to turn off the phone. However, the most accepted hypothesis points to Siri’s phonetic recognition. The assistant, particularly in Spanish, phonetically interprets the phrase and associates it with an instruction similar to “turn off the iPhone” or “remove the device.”
This phenomenon not only occurs when the phrase is pronounced, but also if it is typed manually. When you enter “remove the tree” in the Siri interface, the assistant also suggests turning off the device, reinforcing the idea that this is a phonetic interpretation and not a pre-programmed command.
The update of iOS 27 will transform the experience on iPhone, with changes focused on artificial intelligence and new visual customization options.
The integration of external AI models stands out: users will be able to choose between systems such as Google’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude to enhance Apple Intelligence functions, delegating tasks such as image generation or the use of writing tools to the model they prefer.
This advance will be possible through extensions downloadable from the App Store, which turns the iPhone into an open and flexible platform for AI services from different companies.
Siri will also evolveallowing each AI model to have a differentiated voice, so that the assistant will respond with different tones depending on the engine used, whether it is Claude, Gemini or Apple’s own.
In the visual section, iOS 27 maintains the Liquid Glass aesthetic, now with a slider that allows you to adjust the transparency in icons, buttons and other elements, making it easier to customize the appearance of the system and improving readability according to the user’s preferences.
Additionally, the “undo and redo” function is added when editing the home screen, to easily reverse any change in the organization of the icons.
The company will continue to develop its own artificial intelligence, although the opening to third-party models will also be present in iPadOS 27 and macOS 27, expanding integration throughout its ecosystem. So, iOS 27 It is emerging as a version that reinforces both the capacity of the virtual assistant and the customization possibilities for each user.
