Apple’s next software update likely won’t contain many major new features. — Photo by Samuel Angor on Unsplash
Apple is preparing a series of iterative, AI-focused updates to its iPhone and iPad operating system in 2026, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The article also states that reports of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s imminent departure from the company may be “premature.”
Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman wrote that iOS 27, the next annual update to Apple’s iPhone and iPad software, will be somewhat less sprawling than previous updates, and will focus on two major themes: quality improvements and artificial intelligence features.
This year, Apple released iOS 26, an update that brought with it a major visual redesign of the iPhone operating system. Apple refers to it as “Liquid Glass.” New features included a call recording button, polls in text messages, and a smattering of AI features, including “visual intelligence,” a button that enables users to ask questions about the content on their phone’s screen, and the ability to translate text messages.
Apple’s next software update likely won’t contain many major new features, according to Gurman. That’s in part because, as Gurman writes, “many users” have reported problems when using iOS 26, such as “device overheating, unexplained battery drain, user interface glitches, keyboard failures, cellular connectivity snags and app crashes.”
Apple is committed to fixing these problems and generally optimising the operating system for iOS 27, according to Gurman, who likened the move to Snow Leopard, an iterative update to Apple’s Mac software released in 2009. He wrote that engineering teams are currently “combing through Apple’s operating systems, hunting for bloat to cut, bugs to eliminate, and any opportunity to meaningfully boost performance and overall quality.”
Still, users can expect a few significant AI-focused updates to make their way onto iPhones next year. A major update to Siri, which will allow the AI assistant to interact with users’ personal data, is expected to launch even before iOS 27, and the company is reportedly working on AI-powered updates to its Health app and new AI-powered search features in partnership with Google.
Apple’s problems with AI have been a well-known weakness. The company has failed to integrate AI into its hardware in a meaningful way, and has thus far focused on low-stakes AI features such as AI-generated emoji and AI-powered rewriting of texts and emails. Gurman wrote earlier this year that most of Apple’s AI features have been “notable for being delayed and underwhelming.”
Gurman also reported that a recent story in the Financial Times that Tim Cook is preparing to step down as Apple CEO soon is not true. The reporter confirmed that succession planning has been “underway for years” within Apple, and that senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus is the likely to be Apple’s next CEO, but pushed back on rumors that Cook would retire between January and June of 2026.
“I would be shocked if Cook steps down in the time frame outlined by the FT,” Gurman wrote. – Inc./Tribune News Service
