Hate AI and liquid glass? iOS 27 will only make it worse...
There is less than a month left until the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), but the leaks about iOS 27 have almost been enough to piece together a product launch.
Based on information from multiple sources, this year's Apple system update has two directions: optimization + AI. In addition, there will also be improvements to the functions and interfaces of first - party apps.
Liquid Glass, Taken to the Extreme
Whether you like the "liquid glass" design or not, Apple will continue to use this design element. iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and especially macOS 27, will continue to refine their interfaces.
Bloomberg has learned that the current liquid glass interface of iOS 26 is not the "complete version" initially expected by Apple internally. The next version will make more adjustments, trying to balance transparency and readability.
The logic and layout of the interface will also be adjusted. 9to5Mac reported that in iOS 27, Apple will bring back the app bottom bar. The overall logic will return to that of iOS 18, canceling the independent search button and other transformed tabs. This change has already occurred in the App Store app.
In addition to visual improvements, Apple will also focus on optimizing the system's energy consumption and smoothness. The software engineering team has carefully examined the systems of each platform, looking for redundant functions to streamline and bugs to fix, not missing any opportunity to optimize performance.
The highlight is naturally on "AI". Siri will have an unprecedented presence in the system and will be everywhere in the system.
First of all, Siri itself will undergo a transformation. The AI Siri released two years ago is expected to be implemented in iOS 27, which can control apps by voice and sense personal scenarios.
Even after two years of refinement, AI Siri may not be launched in its "complete form" at the first time. The core App Intents and context - awareness functions may have a "beta version" switch, and some functions may even be further postponed.
More importantly, Apple is transforming Siri into a "chatbot" similar to ChatGPT and Gemini. It will have an independent app and interact in a dialogue form, capable of interpreting pictures and documents.
Rendering of SiriBot, generated by AI
Although there is an independent app, users can still call up Siri as before through the voice command "Hey Siri" and long - pressing the power button. Apple is testing several different design schemes for the new version of Siri to replace the glowing edge interface introduced in iOS 18.
In one of the schemes, Siri will appear at the top of the screen in the form of the "Dynamic Island" to prompt users to search or ask questions. When processing requests, a pill - shaped indicator saying "Searching" and a glowing Siri icon will appear on the screen. The generated results will pop up in an extended semi - transparent "liquid glass" panel, and users can further stretch the panel to enter a deep dialogue with Siri.
In order to catch up in the AI field, Apple has decided to seek external help. At the beginning of this year, it officially announced a cooperation with Google to build Apple Intelligence and the Apple Foundation Model based on the Gemini model.
In addition, Apple may also launch an AI "extension" platform in the iOS 27 system, allowing any third - party AI, including Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, etc., to directly take over Siri.
Bloomberg's latest leak claims that there is a rift in the relationship between Apple and its original partner OpenAI, and it may even end up in a legal lawsuit. The reason is that OpenAI believes it has not benefited from the cooperation, and the situation is far from expected, even damaging OpenAI's image.
On iOS 27, we may see a "three - layer" Siri:
The bottom layer is the Apple Foundation Model trained based on Gemini, running on the device side and private cloud.
Siri's own dialogue and task - execution capabilities.
Third - party AI services accessed through the extension platform.
There are also many interface and function adjustments around Apple's first - party apps, and further integration of AI functions related to Siri.
Camera
The professional mode of the iPhone camera has finally arrived.
Bloomberg leaked that the new camera app in iOS 27 will provide an "Advanced" tab, which can adjust depth of field and exposure control, and offer widget functions for "Basic", "Manual", and "Preset", as well as new grid and histogram functions.
It is not yet clear whether this is an exclusive update for Pro models. People familiar with the matter revealed that Apple hopes to attract more professional users with this new feature.
In addition to the advanced mode, the new camera app can also customize the interface. Users can choose the positions of function icons such as flash, exposure, and timer.
The camera will also add a "Siri Mode", similar to the "Visual Intelligence" function of Apple Intelligence, used to recognize objects and perform real - time translation.
Photos
Apple will add a brand - new "Apple Intelligence Tools" module to the editing interface of the "Photos" app, which includes the following three functions:
Extend, which is the AI image - extension function, allows users to generate additional image content outside the original frame. For example, when taking a photo of a landmark at a tourist attraction, users can use this tool to fill in the surrounding scenery, and can control the range and position of the extended image by themselves.
Enhance, which uses AI to automatically retouch photos, similar to the non - customizable "Doubao Photo Retouching".
Reframe, mainly used for Apple's spatial photos, allows users to change the perspective after taking a photo. For example, the perspective of a car photo can be adjusted from the front view to the side view. This function will make full use of the structural data from multiple cameras in spatial photos.
The AI "removal" function of the Photos app in iOS 18
However, according to employees involved in internal testing, the development of these functions has not been smooth. The more complex "Reframe" and "Extend" functions are unstable, and Apple is likely to postpone or cancel the release of these functions.
Health
Apple will launch a brand - new "Health+" subscription service this year, which uses an AI agent to conduct personalized analysis of users' physical data and push targeted advice recorded by real doctors.
Image Garden
Apple has been testing more powerful AI models to improve the quality of images generated by Image Garden, which may be more realistic than the current ones.
The interface of the Image Garden app will also be more concise, with a reduced number of buttons, and a new option for further editing the generated images.
Search
The Spotlight search function will be deeply integrated with AI and may be completely integrated with Siri, displaying more advanced search results and other data from apps.
In addition to Siri, users can also switch to third - party AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity in the search bar.
Bloomberg also leaked last year that Apple is building its own "knowledge search engine", which collects and summarizes information from the Internet through AI, with an effect similar to Perplexity.
Safari Browser
The browser will have a brand - new start page, with four tabs added at the top to facilitate users to switch between "Favorites", "Bookmarks", "Reading List", and "Browsing History".
Apple's self - developed AI search engine will, together with other third - party services, become an optional search engine service for the Safari browser.
Other Apps
The changes are not limited to these apps. According to Bloomberg's report, in Apple's first - party apps such as Mail and Messages, the regular search boxes are likely to be "empowered" by Siri to achieve more intelligent retrieval capabilities, similar to the Photos app powered by Apple Intelligence.
AI Should Be a System - Level Capability
This week, Google held the Android Show event. It seemed to be releasing the Android 17 system, but most of the discussion was about Gemini Intelligence.
Google even directly announced that Android will no longer be a simple operating system in the future, but an "Intelligence System". Various AI functions and agents will continuously intervene in user interactions.
As a follower, Apple is unlikely to take a big leap and directly compete with Google, the top student in AI. However, based on current leaks, the new system to be released by Apple next month will be bolder than before.
Two years ago, when Apple Intelligence was first introduced, Apple had an extremely cautious attitude towards generative AI. The "AI" in the Apple ecosystem was more like a series of isolated apps rather than a system - level capability.
In iOS 27, the presence of AI is significantly enhanced, and Siri will almost appear in all first - party apps.
Currently, Apple Intelligence is not only not very useful, but more fatally, the value it provides is greatly misaligned with users' needs, resulting in users not wanting to use it. This is the situation that Apple wants to change.
But this also means that AI is no longer just an optional additional function. It will frequently appear in scenarios that users encounter every day, posing higher requirements for stability and accuracy.
Just like the "AI Notification Summary" in iOS 18, because it covers the notification scenario that almost everyone encounters, once there is a misunderstanding, it is easy to turn into a public opinion storm.
In the past two years, Apple Intelligence has experienced too many fluctuations, and its functions have been slow to materialize. Apple's AI strategy once seemed chaotic and hesitant.
After a major personnel reshuffle internally and bringing in external experts, Apple seems to have finally got back on track. If these leaks are successfully implemented, even if Apple may not be able to overtake and lead the industry, at least it will no longer be "lagging behind".
Equally important, can iOS 27 turn the Chinese - mainland - version iPhones that have been "prepared for Apple Intelligence" for two years into "AI iPhones"?