iOS 27: No major changes expected for Liquid Glass
After the major changes in iOS 26, Apple wants to hit the brakes with the next update. Only minor innovations are probably planned.
Three iPhone boxes on a table: iOS 27 is likely to arrive in September.
(Image: KaterynaSypailova / Shutterstock.com)
A little peace after the switch to Liquid Glass: Apple is planning comparatively little new for iOS 27, which is expected to be released in the fall. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman reports this in his newsletter from Sunday. He thus confirms earlier information from November, according to which the upgrade is to become a kind of macOS Snow Leopard. Among Mac users, this release (macOS 10.6) is famous because Apple specifically focused on bug fixes and reduced the number of new features to make the system more stable. Many users hope for something similar from iOS 27.
Controversial Glass
With iOS 26, Apple had made a major design overhaul, which was quite controversial. Although adjustments have since been made with new switches and reductions in graphical effects, there are still oddities in the look as well as minor and major graphic and operating errors. With iOS 27, Apple might take its time to fix them. According to Gurman, however, this does not mean that Liquid Glass will disappear completely. Instead, there should be further configuration options.
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This includes a system-wide slider that controls the glass effect. This is already known from the watch display on the lock screen. Apple had already planned this for iOS 26, but then encountered technical problems. In the future, the slider will apply to app folders, the home screen, and all navigation bars, among other things. So far, you can only “reduce” the transparency, but not fine-tune it.
Improving Software Quality
At the end of last year, Apple surprisingly lost its Human Interface boss Alan Dye, who is said to be primarily responsible for Liquid Glass, to Meta. Nevertheless, this does not mean that Liquid Glass will disappear. According to Gurman, it is part of a multi-year effort that began with visionOS. Major changes are not expected for several years at most. Therefore, iOS 27 and macOS 27 will not get a new design.
Instead, in addition to internal improvements, the new operating system will focus on integrating Google Gemini – and with it “Campo,” the first “real” chatbot Siri. The other top priority is improving software quality, which will also help Liquid Glass, according to Gurman. What exactly will be in iOS 27 will likely be seen at the WWDC 2026 developer conference in the summer.
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