This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: iOS 27’s ‘Snow Leopard’ update, iPhone Fold pricing, 2026 product launches, and more Apple rumors.
iOS 27 might be Snow Leopard-like release
Mark Gurman at Bloomberg reported this week that Apple’s forthcoming iOS 27, macOS 27, and other software updates could be Snow Leopard-like releases.
That means Apple is prioritizing performance and bug fixes to a greater degree than normal. He writes:
Aiming to improve the software, 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. Like Snow Leopard set the groundwork for future overhauls and new types of Macs, iOS 27 will lay the foundation for foldable iPhones and other new hardware.
The report mentions that some major AI features are still coming in iOS 27, but otherwise it could be a much lighter update for new features.
My takeaways
I’m all for this kind of move, and I think the timing is right.
iOS 26’s new Liquid Glass design was a major step forward in building for the future of Apple devices. But it also, for some users at least, introduced plenty of bugs and performance issues that could use some extra attention.
While I do think Apple needs to keep pushing hard with AI features, other than that the iPhone would very much benefit from making “it just works” more true than ever.
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