iOS 27’s new design leak sounds a lot like what I’ve been wanting most

Source: 9to5Mac

Yesterday Mark Gurman at Bloomberg published an extensive report covering design changes for iOS 27 overall, with lots of specifics on the new Siri and upgraded Camera app. One of my favorite details could be good news for the Liquid Glass change I’ve been wanting most.

Apple is redesigning iOS 27’s Liquid Glass tab bars, potentially solving my biggest complaint

iOS 27’s unveiling is just a few weeks away, and leaks about new features and changes keep coming.

The latest is from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reported yesterday about a variety of design updates in iOS 27. Gurman writes:

The next major iPhone software update, iOS 27, also will include noticeable design changes across several areas, including the Siri digital assistant, system search and apps such as Safari, Image Playground and Weather. Apple is also planning system‑wide changes, such as new animations and redesigned tab bars.

It’s the system‑wide changes that especially caught my eye. Previously, Gurman said iOS 27 will bring “refinements” to Liquid Glass. This latest report adds concrete details:

• A new animation when the on‑screen keyboard appears – the keys will slide up from the bottom of the iPhone’s interface.
• Tab bars in apps will be tweaked to combine the search tab with the rest of an app’s tabs.

That redesign of tab bars is what excites me most, because tab bars in iOS 26 are my biggest complaint about the Liquid Glass design.

iOS 26’s tab bars feel like a regression, and iOS 27 could fix them

Apple Music’s minimized tab bar

In iOS 26, Apple made bottom tab bars more transparent and split search into a standalone button. Additionally, tab bars in several apps now collapse into a single icon in the bottom‑left corner when you scroll.

It’s this last change that’s been a problem for me. Every day, many times a day, I find myself needing to tap that minimized tab bar to make it reappear, then tap again to reach the desired tab. It happens in Photos, Music, and Podcasts. That extra tap, required for the very common act of switching tabs, feels regressive.

I like how Liquid Glass tab bars look, but this behavior seems like a step back from iOS 18.

Apple Podcasts minimized tab bar

There are plenty of apps in iOS 26 where tab bars work differently—News, Books, and TV all keep the full tab bar visible while scrolling.

My hope is that integrating search back into the tab bar means iOS 27 will undo the collapsing behavior as well. Otherwise, there would be little point in reverting to the integrated iOS 18 design.

Both the App Store and Games reintegrated search into the tab bar in iOS 26.4, and neither app minimizes the bar.

If Apple kept minimizing the tab bar in iOS 27, search would be hidden too, which seems unlikely. Apple is generally good at iterating on designs based on user feedback.

Based on Gurman’s report, the most likely outcome is that tab bars across all apps stay visible even while scrolling, addressing my biggest current Liquid Glass complaint.

What new changes do you hope Apple makes to the design in iOS 27? Let us know in the comments.