Apple is planning a major code cleanup for iOS 27 that aims to improve battery life and overall performance. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company will remove old code fragments, make subtle interface tweaks, and upgrade older apps to help them perform better. This comes after years of declining software quality with increased bugs and battery drain.

Gurman describes Apple's current iOS codebase as 'a bit of a mess under the hood' that has led to frustrating user experiences. The cleanup effort will focus on efficiency gains that could provide users with more battery life. While the company hopes these underlying changes will deliver tangible benefits, it's unclear whether Apple will market these improvements or simply present them as the natural result of tidying up the code.

The code optimization work is part of a broader strategy for iOS 27 that also includes enhancing AI features. Some Siri capabilities promised at WWDC 2024 have been delayed to this release, and Apple is reportedly developing a Siri chatbot for iOS 27. The focus on performance and stability marks a shift from recent iOS versions that prioritized new features over polish.