iOS 26 is the most controversial iPhone update in many years. That includes dislike of the Liquid Glass design, but there are also plenty of reports of performance problems. That makes iOS 27 such an important update — Apple needs to fix bugs and maybe even find a way to deal with those unsatisfied with the new look of the operating system.
Early reports indicate Apple made fixing iOS 26 problems a focus of the next major update. But which models get iOS 27? And who gets left out in the cold? Here’s what we know now.
iOS 26 bugs: A bigger problem than Liquid Glass
Finding criticism of the latest iOS version on social media is no challenge. A search for “iOS 26” on Threads immediately turns up “iOS 26 is garbage across the board and I get more frustrated by the bugs every day,” for example. Complaints from many iPhone users focus on lag, crashes, sluggishness on older iPhones, poor keyboard behavior and battery drain.
Gripping about iOS updates is normal, but the amount and intensity of negative comments about iOS 26 — especially on design and performance — has been larger and more sustained than what we typically see with an Apple update. And it’s reflected in lower than normal adoption of the new version, with many sticking to iOS 18.
Those feeling frustrated should be happy to learn that Apple is aware of the problem and is supposedly making a major effort to deal with it.
“Apple will be focused on improving the nuts-and-bolts performance of the software with iOS 27,” reports Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman in the most recent Power On newsletter. “That means eliminating bugs, removing old code and fine-tuning the interface.”
Gurman has reliable sources inside Apple, so his predictions are generally accurate. And this is something he’s said before: the main focus of iOS 27 is nixing bugs.
Will your iPhone support iOS 27? Here’s what we know.
Anyone unhappy with iOS 26 is surely looking forward to iOS 27 once they understand it’s going to (hopefully) fix its problems. That leaves iPhone users wondering whether their handset will be able to install the next major update.
Apple hasn’t released an official compatibility list yet, so for now, predictions rely on Apple’s typical five-to-six-year support window and expected hardware requirements rather than confirmed details. Devices from roughly the iPhone 12 generation onward are generally seen as the most likely to qualify, while older models could be left out if performance demands increase.
That means handsets going back to 2020 are a safe bet to get iOS 27, and that likely includes the iPhone SE 3. But the iPhone 11 series is questionable. The status of the iPhone SE 2 is also unknown, as it uses the same A13 chip as the iPhone 11 series.
That said, it might not be too optimistic to hope that iOS 27 will be offered to every handset that got iOS 26, considering that version introduced so many bugs.
Apple is expected to clarify everything when iOS 27 is unveiled at WWDC 2026 in June, with the finished version likely arriving in September.
The Liquid Glass question
While some people surely consider Liquid Glass to be a bug, it’s the actual design Apple chose for iOS 26, and so far, there’s no credible indication that Cupertino plans to dramatically overhaul or abandon it in iOS 27. That’s despite the recent departure of Alan Dye, Apple’s former head of interface design who’s seen as a champion of Liquid Glass.
That said, Apple is widely expected to continue refining the design, not digging in its heels and leaving it untouched. Various iOS 26 updates already adjusted transparency levels and visual effects in response to complaints, and similar “tuning” is anticipated in iOS 27.
Bottom line, the prevailing expectation is evolution, not replacement, with Apple smoothing Liquid Glass’s rough edges while keeping the overall aesthetic intact.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
