Gurman: iOS 27 Update to Prioritize Snow Leopard-Style Performance Fixes and New AI Tools

Apple is planning a significant shift in strategy for its next major iPhone operating system, iOS 27. According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the 2026 update will break from the recent trend of flashy, feature-heavy releases to focus primarily on performance, stability, and bug fixes, mirroring the company’s famous "Snow Leopard" update from 2009.

Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reveals that Apple’s engineering teams have been tasked with a "quality-first" mandate. This comes in direct response to the rollout of iOS 26 earlier this year, which introduced the major "Liquid Glass" visual redesign but has been plagued by user complaints regarding overheating, battery drain, and interface glitches.

The "Snow Leopard" Approach
Gurman reports that Apple is treating iOS 27 (and the accompanying macOS 27) as a "maintenance" cycle, similar to how Mac OS X Snow Leopard focused almost entirely on under-the-hood refinements rather than new user-facing features.

"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 wrote.

The goal is to stabilize the ecosystem after years of rapid expansion, ensuring that the software runs smoother, faster, and more efficiently on existing devices while laying the groundwork for future hardware.

AI Remains the Exception
While the general focus is on cleanup, Gurman notes that Artificial Intelligence remains the major exception to the rule. Apple cannot afford to pause its AI momentum, and iOS 27 is expected to introduce at least two significant new AI-powered capabilities:

AI Health Agent: Apple is reportedly developing a sophisticated AI health coach that will integrate with a new Apple Health+ subscription service. This agent will provide personalized, proactive health and fitness guidance based on data from the Apple Watch and iPhone.

AI-Powered Web Search: To better compete with Google and Perplexity, Apple is working on a new AI search tool that could be integrated directly into Spotlight or Safari, offering synthesized answers rather than just a list of links.

The report also clarifies the timeline for the long-awaited "Siri 2.0." The fully revamped, more conversational version of Siri is reportedly still on track to launch before iOS 27, likely arriving in the iOS 26.4 update this coming spring.

Preparing for the Foldable iPhone
Beyond software stability, the report suggests that iOS 27 is being engineered to support a major hardware shift: the foldable iPhone.

Gurman indicates that the rigorous code cleanup is partly intended to ensure the operating system is optimized for the new form factor, which is widely expected to debut in late 2026 or 2027. By slimming down the code now, Apple aims to ensure its software is nimble enough to handle the complex multitasking and display demands of its first foldable device.