Apple Shifts Strategy for iOS 27: Quality Over Features with Enhanced AI Focus

iOS 27 will reportedly focus on performance improvements and AI upgrades

After years of introducing major changes with its annual iOS releases, Apple may be altering its approach next time around, instead focusing on refinement over a bevy of flashy new features. According to Mark Gurman in this week's Power On newsletter, for iOS 27, Apple is "focused on improving the software's quality and underlying performance." That, and beefing up its AI offerings. On the heels of iOS 26, which brought the Liquid Glass design overhaul, and the trickle of underbaked AI features that have arrived since the rollout of Apple Intelligence last year, Apple is reportedly honing in to improve the experience. Gurman writes that "engineering teams are now combing through Apple's operating systems, hunting for bloat to cut, bugs to eliminate, and any opportunity to meaningfully boost performance and overall quality." Gurman compares the strategy to 2009's Snow Leopard release for Mac, which focused on bug fixes, decluttering and efficiency. Catching up on AI is a major priority as well, the report notes. The company is working on an AI web search tool and an Apple Intelligence overhaul, alongside plans to integrate its AI into more apps. We still have yet to see the smarter, more personal AI-powered Siri the company has been talking about since 2024, but that's expected to arrive before iOS 27 -- possibly with iOS 26.4 this coming spring, according to Gurman.

Apple to focus on 'quality and underlying performance' with iOS 27 next year: report - 9to5Mac

This past year, Apple overhauled its design language across all of its major software platforms with the introduction of Liquid Glass. That dramatic redesign, coupled with a number of jam-packed released over the past couple years, has resulted in many Apple users complaining about the overall quality of Apple software. According to today's Power On newsletter, Apple might finally be stepping back from new features, and instead focusing on underlying performance improvements. Let's discuss. Per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is taking a step back from launching any major new software features at WWDC26. This applies to iOS 27 and macOS 27, as well as all of the companies smaller platforms, like watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. For the first time since iOS 12, Apple will be focusing on software quality, rather than flashy new features: Aiming to improve the software, engineering teams are now combing through Apple's operating systems, hunting for bloat to cut, bugs to eliminate, and any opportunity to meaningfully boost performance and overall quality. Like Snow Leopard set the groundwork for future overhauls and new types of Macs, iOS 27 will lay the foundation for foldable iPhones and other new hardware. Apple won't quite launch 'zero new features' like they claimed with OS X Snow Leopard back in 2009, however. According to Gurman, Apple still plans to release a number of new AI features with iOS 27, so the company doesn't fall behind in the AI race. Currently, two major AI features are expected for iOS 27: Apple's new AI health agent, launching alongside a potential Apple Health+ subscription, as well as the companies first AI-powered web search project. Outside of the heavy focus on software quality and other AI enhancements, Gurman also outlines three additional things to look out for with iOS 27:

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects there to be new AI features. He said that iOS 27 will extend artificial intelligence to additional Apple apps, and he reiterated that there will be an Apple Health+ subscription service that offers personalized health recommendations and more. He said this focus on improved quality over new features also applies to macOS 27. The first betas of iOS 27, macOS 27, and other corresponding updates should be released shortly after Apple's annual developers conference WWDC next June.