iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 readiness

Public Apple sources checked 2026-10-09. Use this reference for Mode A platform review and the relevant Mode C design/product-page checks. Read ios27-sources.md for dated source links and release channels. This is a maintained review map, not a claim that a static scan can verify every OS change.

Contents

1. Establish version and evidence
2. Submission gates and migration
3. AI, Siri, search, and privacy
4. Design, accessibility, and adaptive interfaces
5. Technology coverage map
6. Commerce and product-page marketing
7. Runtime matrix and handoff
8. Minor-release and future-requirement watchlist

1. Establish version and evidence

Record the linked SDK, Xcode/compiler, deployment target, test OS build, device, feature eligibility, language/region, and distribution channel separately. A deployment target of 13 does not mean the binary was built with SDK 13. SDKROOT = iphoneos is not a version. SWIFT_VERSION is a language mode, not proof of the compiler version. Local Xcode is not evidence of CI's upload toolchain.

Prefer each submitted executable bundle's DTSDKName, DTXcode, and MinimumOSVersion, plus signed entitlements and the build log. Review app and extension targets independently. Framework and watchOS companion plists do not establish an iOS app's upload compliance. Repository settings, Podfiles, .xcconfig, and Expo build properties are authored evidence that needs resolution, not proof of the archive.

The scanner accepts an IPA, ZIP, or .xcarchive directory. It reads bounded plist metadata without extracting files, executing project code, installing dependencies, compiling, or accessing the network. A readable plist is not proof of a valid executable, signature, profile, or successful upload. Malformed, missing, ambiguous, and oversized evidence stays manual.

platform_review.verification_status = bundled_reference means the scanner used this dated snapshot. It did not perform live policy verification. runtime_test_status = not_run means exactly that. Technology manual means a source signal exists; not_detected does not prove the feature is absent or inapplicable. Resolve applicability using product evidence, native bridges, dependencies, and the submitted build.

Do not require optional adoption of Siri, Foundation Models, Core AI, widgets, glass effects, subscription bundles, or a foldable-specific feature. Require compliance only when the published rule applies. Assess quality through observable behavior. Use the existing severity and evidence-confidence contracts.

2. Submission gates and migration

OFFICIAL: Xcode 27 includes Swift 6.4, requires an Apple silicon Mac with macOS Tahoe 26.6+, and supports iOS deployment targets starting at 15 and device debugging starting at 17. These toolchain limits are separate from App Store Connect's upload floor of 13. A 13/14 value can meet that stated upload floor without establishing a target supported by the accepted toolchain. Do not promise that Xcode 27 can build it; reconcile the actual CI configuration and supported targets. Recheck the precise Xcode version against Xcode release notes and Xcode system requirements. A developer-tool preview, coding agent, or simulator limitation is not automatically an app defect.

INFERENCE: For SDK-linked behavioral migrations, compile both the existing release configuration and the proposed configuration, then compare actual launch, navigation, layout, persistence, and resource loading. Compiler failures or deprecations require context; a deprecated but supported API is not automatically prohibited by App Review.

3. AI, Siri, search, and privacy

Foundation Models and provider boundaries

OFFICIAL: iOS 27 expands Foundation Models with image input, system-backed tools, model-provider abstraction, and dynamic profiles. Foundation Models update

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE: Build a provider-and-data map for every profile and fallback:

OFFICIAL: Apple's overview identifies Small Business Program participation and fewer than two million total first-time downloads for no-cloud-API-cost PCC access. Recheck actual program terms; do not infer eligibility, unlimited usage, or a free end-user subscription from package presence. iOS developer overview, PCC availability and limits

OFFICIAL: Personal-data sharing with third-party AI requires the disclosure and explicit permission described in 5.1.2(i). Use the privacy checklist for policy, labels, retention, deletion, ATT when applicable, and a verified decline path. Apple's cloud services, third-party AI transfer, and tracking are distinct data flows. App Review Guidelines

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE: Test generated output and tool effects separately. Include malformed structured results, hallucinations, unsafe user requests, hostile retrieved text, unauthorized tools, duplicate/retried writes, destructive actions, cancellation, and an unavailable provider. Inspect actual evaluations rather than treating an import Evaluations as evidence of quality. Recommended evaluations are not a universal App Store submission requirement. Evaluations framework

Siri, App Intents, view annotations, and semantic search

OFFICIAL: Entity/intent schemas, view annotations, and semantic indexing can expose app content and actions to Siri. App Intents capabilities

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE:

• Map each advertised action to a real intent, entity schema, current visible entity, and stable identifier. Inspect native modules when the UI is cross-platform.
• Exercise ambiguous requests, deleted entities, no matches, locked devices, logout, expired accounts, permission refusal, and language/region availability.
• Require appropriate authentication and confirmation around destructive or sensitive actions. Test tools and shortcuts outside the app's foreground UI, including retries.
• Confirm private content is indexed only as intended and that logout/deletion/revocation removes or invalidates retained entries. Verify attribution and app deep links from search results.
• Use AppIntentsTesting for reproducible system-path coverage where available, then verify real Siri behavior separately. A unit test or schema import does not prove an end-to-end Siri conversation.

AppIntentsTesting, Core Spotlight search

4. Design, accessibility, and adaptive interfaces

OFFICIAL: Apple refines materials, typography, and navigation in 27; Liquid Glass originated in the previous design cycle. Use the current system's controls and materials where they support the task, while preserving the product's identity. Do not prescribe decorative glass everywhere or describe a system restyle as product differentiation. Design principles, Brand identity

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE: Review real screens in light/dark appearance, tinted/clear icon appearances offered by the system, larger text, VoiceOver/Voice Control, Increase Contrast, Reduce Transparency, and Reduce Motion. Check busy content behind translucent controls, focus order, hit regions, dismissibility, empty/error/loading states, readable subscription terms, and discoverable actions when navigation minimizes. Do not give a passing grade from modifier names or screenshots alone.

OFFICIAL: SDK 27 makes iPhone interfaces resizable in Mirroring and on iPad. Layout must adapt to the current scene rather than rely on UIScreen.main, orientation, or device-idiom identity. UIRequiresFullScreen needs current behavior review rather than an assumption that it prevents all resizing. UIKit modernization

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE: Inspect per-scene state, restoration, screen changes, safe areas, keyboard avoidance, pointer/focus, popovers, document windows, external displays, and iPhone-only apps on iPad. A phone idiom or regular size class does not reliably identify the physical device. Resolve dimensions from the current container. Check React Native/Flutter/Expo bridges and layout libraries as well as native source.

OFFICIAL: iPhone Duo support includes dynamic inner/outer-display transitions and poses; Xcode 27.1 adds device development support. Prepare for Duo, Adaptive poses

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE: Test fold/unfold while editing, purchasing, showing a sheet, recording, or running an AI task. Preserve content, selection, scroll position, playback, camera coordinates, and focused controls. Check both displays, all supported poses/orientations, intermediate widths, hinge/occlusion handling where relevant, touch reach, and parallel scenes. Record simulation separately from hardware results. Duo design, Multiple displays/scenes

5. Technology coverage map

Each row is a routing area, not a mandatory feature. OFFICIAL sources establish the capability; the suggested tests are INFERENCE until executed. Mark unused areas NOT APPLICABLE only after establishing scope. Search the exact release notes for relevant New Features, Deprecations, Known Issues, and Resolved Issues; a resolved beta bug is not a current app defect.

MANUAL CHECK: The scanner's 23 technology families are source heuristics, with no guarantee of exhaustive detection. Objective-C runtime calls, cross-platform packages, native bridges, dynamically generated projects, entitlements, and remote/server behavior may need manual discovery. Absence of import syntax does not close a review area.

6. Commerce and product-page marketing

Commerce

OFFICIAL: StoreKit 2 supports new Bundles/Suites configurations and multiseat purchase flows. Eligibility, server-side lifecycle, storefront availability and staged launch matter. A Suite is not a paid app bundle, and a subscription bundle is not multiple interchangeable individual entitlements. Bundles/Suites requirements, September rollout notice

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE: Review transaction ownership and seat assignment/revocation, shared access, refunds, family behavior where applicable, upgrades/downgrades, offer redemption results, restore/reinstall, sandbox versus production configuration, and server notifications. Check bundle membership and purchase availability before promising access across apps. In-App Purchase changes

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE: For monthly billing with a 12-month commitment, display both billing frequency and total commitment accurately. Test cancellation/renewal explanation, unpaid periods, regional eligibility and existing-subscription transitions. “Monthly” alone can misrepresent a longer obligation. Do not apply a region's external-payment option worldwide or assume OS 27 removes IAP rules.

Store assets and truthful claims

OFFICIAL: Product-page headers, search-result creative assets, Asset Library management, independent creative-asset review and App Store Connect previews expand the marketing surfaces. October asset announcement, Asset Library help

MANUAL CHECK, INFERENCE:

• Inventory icon, screenshots, app previews/poster frames, header images/video, search-result creative assets, in-app events, custom product pages, localizations and fallback assets.
• Check current size/format/duration/placement specifications instead of reusing one device's crop. Inspect light/dark and device/orientation previews, readability, safe content regions, and rights to every asset. Creative specifications, Screenshot specifications
• Confirm each asset's actual approval status and placement. A local export is not approved or published evidence. Keep marketing review distinct from candidate-build review.
• Match every AI, Siri, compatibility, subscription, privacy and performance claim to the exact shipped behavior and audience. Distinguish OS support from AI-device eligibility, language support, network requirements and regional rollout.
• Show genuine task outcomes. New system styling alone does not establish distinct value under 4.2/4.3. Keep all five existing Mode C grades and highest-impact interventions.
• Verify age-rating answers, data-flow disclosures, privacy labels and Accessibility Nutrition Labels against demonstrated capabilities. System intelligence does not give a third-party app permission to advertise capabilities it does not implement.

OFFICIAL: Accessibility Nutrition Labels cover completing the app's common tasks with each claimed feature, assessed per supported device. Their help page still describes voluntary initial participation; do not invent an iOS 27 submission deadline. Include first launch, login, purchases and settings in the evaluation. Accessibility label criteria

MANUAL CHECK: Inspect App Store Connect's Digital Goods and Services questionnaire and any storefront-specific commerce settings using the current account state. Repository code alone cannot establish an answer or eligibility. Questionnaire help

OFFICIAL: No questionnaire action is required when the form is absent. When it appears, answers describe digital-goods access/payment by region; submitted EU choices remain locked for 12 months. Prepare answers from verified commerce flows and obtain scoped approval before saving them. Questionnaire help

7. Runtime matrix and handoff

INFERENCE: Use a risk-based matrix and record exactly which cells were executed. Avoid a meaningless “tested on iOS 27” checkbox.

Keep MANUAL CHECK when no evidence exists. A reliable supplied test record may establish an observed pass; a simulator run does not prove hardware camera, Neural Engine, signing entitlement or real Siri behavior. Preserve exact failures and reproduction steps. The scanner never launches the app.

In the final report, include iOS 27 platform review after scope, retain the canonical platform_review JSON, and state:

Linked SDK / Xcode: <archive and CI evidence, or MANUAL CHECK>
Deployment target: <per-bundle evidence, or MANUAL CHECK>
Policy verification: <live date and URLs, or bundled_reference dated 2026-10-09>
Runtime tests: <executed matrix with evidence, or not_run>
Applicable platform areas: <manual / verified / not applicable, with reason>
Future and beta items: <version, release channel, date, source>

App Review Notes should describe real feature paths, provider/data routing, prerequisites, fallback, hardware/region limitations and reviewer access. Include only verified information; do not invent credentials, tests, entitlement approvals or a privileged relationship with Apple.

8. Minor-release and future-requirement watchlist

Refresh this watchlist after point releases, new deadlines, HIG changes, or App Store Connect changes. Prefer exact version/build and channel to a blanket “all iOS 27 features” claim.