iOS 27 'Rave' Update to Clean Up Code, Could Boost Battery Life

[MacRumors]

Apple's iOS 27 update will prioritize cleaning up the operating system's internals, with engineers making changes that could result in better battery life, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The effort is said to be similar to what Apple did with its Snow Leopard Mac update years ago, and will involve removing old code, rewriting existing features, and subtly upgrading apps to improve performance.

The result should hopefully be a "snappier, more responsive" OS, says Gurman. Apple is also reportedly planning some interface tweaks, but nothing as dramatic as the Liquid Glass overhaul introduced with iOS 26, which will likely comfort some users.

Code-named "Rave" internally, iOS 27 will also include efficiency improvements that Apple hopes will translate into tangible battery gains for users, says Gurman. It's unclear whether Apple would market those improvements or simply let users discover them on their own.

Gurman says getting the software into good shape is especially important as Apple prepares to launch new device categories, including a touchscreen MacBook Pro and its first foldable iPhone.

The cleanup effort comes alongside Apple's other major iOS 27 priority of improving its AI capabilities. The revamped, chatbot-style Siri that Apple announced in June 2024 has been repeatedly delayed, and some of its features are now expected to arrive in iOS 27 rather than iOS 26, reports Gurman.

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Article Link: iOS 27 'Rave' Update to Clean Up Code, Could Boost Battery Life

 

[JackHinkle]

About time.

 

[555gallardo]

Mark Gurman will soon return in another backtracking article.

 

[TumbleDryer]

Interesting name. Probably a nod to all the rave reviews Liquid Glass got.

 

[ifxf]

Somehow people believe that rewriting code has less bugs than adding new features.

 

[Taq'aix]

Better battery life… this of course is never going to happen. And it’s not comforting, Apple needs to get rid of Liquid Glass, which of course is also not going to happen.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Sounds good to me.
I wonder if iOS 27 will drop support for devices?
If its a "cleanup" that improves things then it sounds like it would support the same devices that works on iOS 26, same goes for iPads.

 

[JulianL]

After what feels like trolling from Gurman with his predictions of so many imminent product launches over the last few months, none of which have happened yet except for Airtags 2, I can't say that I believe much of what he says but the next iPhone Pro Max could be an absolute battery life beast if all of the following rumours all turn out to be correct ...

1 - This one about iOS 27 efficiency improvements
2 - The rumour that the next Pros will get Apple's new C2 modem that will be more power-efficient than the Qualcomm stuff.
3 - The next Pros will be slightly thicker in order to fit a higher capacity battery.

And for some markets, e.g. Europe, there might be a 4th factor to consider if Apple drops the physical SIM slot in more regions because that already gives the eSIM-only models a bigger battery than the equivalent physical-slot models have.

I can't remember which year it was but there was one September launch quite a few years ago (well before the pandemic) where Apple announced an over 30% battery life increase with a new iPhone. I somehow doubt Apple can ever make that big a leap again, at least not until one of these promising new battery technologies actually makes it into a mass market product, but I'm quite looking forward to this September to see just what sort of total improvements Apple can make to battery life, particularly the Pro Max model since that is my iPhone of choice.

 

[ZeromusZeromus]

Mark Gurman will soon return in another backtracking article.

Mark Gurman will return in Avengers: Doomsday

 

[iBluetooth]

Somehow people believe that rewriting code has less bugs than adding new features.

The Snow Leopard version was excellent.

 

[kotaKat]

Mark Gurman will soon return in another backtracking article.

I was wondering how long it'd take for MR to drop all their Guessin' G articles from this Sunday's garbage pile.

 

[jonnyb098]

I’ll believe it when I see it. If it does happen it’ll just be a cycle that repeats. One stable release followed by buggy releases in the years to follow. The last best iOS as far as stability was iOS 12. iOS13 was pretty terrible but iOS26 is competing for the crown unfortunately. And mostly not because of Liquid Glass controversy, but rather the amount of bugs across the board, especially on iPad. Six months into public release and it still feels like it’s MAYBE a beta 3.

 

[xander49x]

Still trying to figure out why MR prints anything Mark Gurman says, all he does is guess, which anyone can do. I predict Apple will make more money in 2026.

 

[madebybela]

The Snow Leopard version was excellent.

that was Apple in 2009. I don't know if I trust 2026 Apple to pull this off considering they've left so many basic bugs fester over the greater part of a decade.
Hoping for the best though.

 

[Volk.JP]

> rewriting existing features

Please don’t.

 

[Artemiz]

Somehow people believe that rewriting code has less bugs than adding new features.

Rewriting typically involves deprecating old libraries and replacing them with a more optimized code, which results in performance gains. No one rewrites code that ends up adding extra overhead compared to the existing one.

New features on the other hand means more complex code which definitely adds overhead and potential for new bugs no matter how well-written it is.

 

[TVreporter]

Rave? They’ve been dancing around bugs and our complaints for the past few years.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Sure......we've been hearing this every year for the last decade.

 

[bluecoast]

Better battery life… this of course is never going to happen. And it’s not comforting, Apple needs to get rid of Liquid Glass, which of course is also not going to happen.

My hope is that ‘tinted’ becomes a ‘modernised’ version of the iOS 18 interface ie more like frosted glass and thus improving usability and batter my life.

And that with Liquid Glass we get the most egregious UI disasters removed / toned down.

Here’s hoping

 

[vegetassj4]

The result should hopefully be a "snappier, more responsive" OS, says Gurman

iOS 27, they have packed in more snap than ever before seen in an OS. Response is light years ahead of the competition now with Response Pro, a magical new response that can respond even before you spond. In fact it will be the snappiest iOS they have ever created. Dare we call it iOS Pro? We sre going to love it.

 

[Corefile]

> The effort is said to be similar to what Apple did with its Snow Leopard Mac update years ago, and will involve removing old code, rewriting existing features, and subtly upgrading apps to improve performance.

The SL release introduced new graphical fluff too. So we'll get more toilet glass in iOS 27. Great.

 

[klasma]

iOS 27, they have packed in more snap than ever before seen in an OS.

Rhythm is a Dancer!

 

[tech_enthusiast_]

It wouldn’t be big and flashy, but I would really appreciate if they just did a year of fixes. No (or very few) new features, all fixes for the many inconsistencies in Liquid Glass, accessibility concerns, and stability. That would be a more exciting update than one with a bunch of new features IMO

 

[ratpH1nk]

Apple's iOS 27 update will prioritize cleaning up the operating system's internals, with engineers making changes that could result in better battery life, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The effort is said to be similar to what Apple did with its Snow Leopard Mac update years ago, and will involve removing old code, rewriting existing features, and subtly upgrading apps to improve their performance.

The result should hopefully be a "snappier, more responsive" OS, says Gurman. Apple is also reportedly planning some interface tweaks, but nothing as dramatic as the Liquid Glass overhaul introduced with iOS 26, which will likely comfort some users.

Code-named "Rave" internally, iOS 27 will also include efficiency improvements that Apple hopes will translate into tangible battery gains for users, says Gurman. However, it's unclear whether Apple would market those improvements or simply let users discover them on their own.

Gurman says getting the software into good shape is especially important as Apple prepares to launch new device categories, including a touchscreen MacBook Pro and its first foldable iPhone, both of which are expected in the second half of 2026.

The cleanup effort comes alongside Apple's other major iOS 27 priority of improving its AI capabilities. The revamped, chatbot-style Siri that Apple announced in June 2024 has been repeatedly delayed, and some of its features are now expected to arrive in iOS 27 rather than iOS 26, reports Gurman.

​

Article Link: iOS 27 'Rave' Update to Clean Up Code, Could Boost Battery Life

I don't think anyone would have a problem of a major/minor OS update tick schedule -- major OS update, clean-up bug/fix/optimization etc... on a 2 year cycle.

 

[Kylo83]

So another boring update honestly iOS 26 didn’t bring anything new and exciting just a theme pack and even that isn’t fully done yet