iOS 27 could be the least feature-packed in years – it's all about the iPhone Fold in 2026, it seems

We should only expect minor changes to iOS this year, it's claimed

iOS 26 running on an iPhone 16 Pro Max
(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
Quick Summary

We should only expect minor changes to iOS this year, it's claimed – at least when it comes to its Liquid Design.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims the latest internal version of iOS 27 carries no major design changes.

We are about three months away from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, better known as WWDC, where the company typically unveils many of the new software features it will bring to its products later in the year. But with iOS 26 introducing arguably the biggest design overhaul to the iPhone’s interface in more than a decade, it might come as little surprise that the same isn’t expected for iOS 27.

What will iOS 27 offer?

This comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a great reputation with insider Apple info. He says (via 9to5Mac) that “the latest internal versions of iOS 27 and macOS 27 don’t reflect major design changes". You can expect “years of gradual improvements” to follow, rather than another huge overhaul.

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There have been a couple of changes to Liquid Glass since it arrived in September last year, including the ability to select a 'Tinted' option. Apple's iOS 26.4 will also allow you to disable Liquid Glass highlights, according to Beta releases.

Gurman continues in his PowerOn newsletter: “During development of iOS 26, Apple had been working on a systemwide slider that would allow users to finely control the level of the glass effect.

"The company was able to implement this feature for the clock on the lock screen but ran into engineering challenges when trying to extend it across the entire system – including app folders, the home screen and navigation bars.

“If Apple manages to make that systemwide control work in iOS 27 as desired – alongside broader engineering improvements – the entire conversation around Liquid Glass could once again change dramatically.”

Ultimately though, it looks like Apple's biggest focus for 2026 won’t be iOS 27, but the folding iPhone. And we're down with that.

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Britta O'Boyle
Freelance contributor

Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer tech from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and previously did a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, but you’ll now find her byline on several titles including GQ, the Express, the Mirror, TechRadar, Stuff and iMore. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.

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