With iOS 26, Apple rolled out tons of changes to the iPhone's operating system, including new phone and messaging features, Live Translation, and notably, its new Liquid Glass design. Liquid Glass gives iOS a glass-like translucent look on many user interface elements, and this new design is now used across Apple's ecosystem, including iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Although iOS 26 focused on new features, next year's big software update, iOS 27, is expected to be completely different in scope.
For iOS 27, Apple reportedly has a few items on its agenda that it wants to improve. Namely, performance and quality are two of the most important areas Apple wants to improve. Gurman reports that Apple has a team of engineers already "combing through" all of its operating systems, looking for bugs to fix, code that could be simplified to reduce bloat, and ways to enhance performance.
If iOS 27 launches with virtually no bugs and delivers a polished, even faster experience, I don't think many people will complain after years of feature-rich iOS updates.
iOS 27 will likely debut on the first foldable iPhone, which could arrive in the fall of 2026, and given that it could be the most expensive iPhone ever, having iOS 27 be extremely optimized and polished for it will be nothing but beneficial for the device, and of course, the rest of the devices in Apple's ecosystem. Personally, this makes me very excited about the launch of iOS 27, as it seems like a change in direction Apple has needed for a long time.
While iOS 27's main focus will reportedly be on refinement, it will still introduce some new features, which Gurman reports will mainly focus on AI. Given that AI is an area where Apple is playing catch-up with competitors like Samsung and Google, it's no surprise iOS 27 will finally be the update we get more of it, especially since Apple's delayed AI upgrade for Siri is expected to launch sometime early next year, with iOS 26.4.
Will Tim Cook be Apple CEO when iOS 27 launches?
Despite recent reports, Cook could stay in the role for longer
What the future holds for Apple CEO Tim Cook has been making lots of headlines lately, as the Financial Times recently published a report stating that Tim Cook could possibly resign as CEO of Apple early next year, and that Apple is ramping up its succession planning, with John Ternus, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, one of the leading candidates for the job.
However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, one of the most respected sources of Apple news in the media, claims that the report is "simply false," and that based on what he's heard at Apple from sources, Tim Cook isn't likely to resign as Apple CEO in the middle of next year and that there are "few signs internally" that Cook is preparing to depart as CEO anytime soon.
Cook has served as Apple's CEO since August 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs. Since then, Apple's market value has surged from $350 billion to $4.5 trillion in 2025. Due to this fact, Gurman notes that Cook has "earned the right to decide his own future," meaning he won't be ousted but will step down when he's ready. As he still appears to enjoy the role, this could be well into the future.
Whatever happens, 2026 looks like a pivotal year for Apple, with tons of new M5-powered product refreshes, the first-ever foldable iPhone, and finally, the highly anticipated personalized AI update to Siri. Regarding iOS 27, I'm really happy to hear that Apple is reportedly focusing on refinement rather than trying to overload it with new features again. While my experience with iOS 26 has been quite smooth, I've seen many reports of users encountering software glitches, battery drain, and keyboard problems. If iOS 27 launches with virtually no bugs and delivers a polished, even faster experience, I don't think many people will complain after years of feature-rich iOS updates.