According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is taking a “Snow Leopard-style” approach to its next major software version, shifting focus away from annual feature bloat and toward rebuilding the OS’ foundations.

The initiative mirrors 2009’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which famously rewrote core system components to boost speed, eliminate bugs, and streamline the platform after years of aggressive expansion.

Apple is now said to be pursuing the same playbook for iPhone, iPad and macOS, following a wave of user complaints about iOS 26’s battery drain, UI glitches, cellular issues, overheating and system sluggishness.

Engineering teams are reportedly combing through the codebase to remove legacy cruft, improve responsiveness, and prepare the OS for next-generation hardware - including foldable iPhones.

But while iOS 27 will dial back headline features, Apple Intelligence supposedly remains a major priority.

The company is preparing a revamped Siri - due to debut partially in iOS 26.4 - with deeper generative capabilities and a more conversational design.

iOS 27 will reportedly expand AI across core apps, introduce a health-focused AI agent tied to a future Health+ subscription, and continue Apple’s push into AI-powered web search.

Apple has also said to be internally testing an experimental chatbot app, Veritas, as a proving ground for its new large language models, though the company isn’t planning to release it directly.

Meanwhile, its partnership with Google to integrate Gemini into Apple Foundation Models underscores how aggressively it’s trying to regain ground in the AI race.

With a dual focus on stability and next-gen intelligence, iOS 27 is shaping up to be Apple’s most important software release in years - even if it looks less flashy on the surface.