Apple is said to be preparing a major overhaul of the photo editing features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. According to a seasoned journalist, the Cupertino-based tech giant is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to catch up and compete with its Android rivals. It is reportedly developing a new suite of tools for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 operating systems, which are likely to be previewed at WWDC 2026 before being publicly released later this Fall.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Mark Gurman, the revamped Photos app will feature a dedicated Apple Intelligence Tools menu within the editing interface. This section is expected to include three new AI-powered options — Extend, Enhance, and Reframe. These features will reportedly enable users to make advanced edits in just a few seconds.
To begin with, the Extend tool will allow users to expand an image beyond its original frame by generating additional visual content. It is expected to have similar functionality as image expansion features offered by other brands like iQOO and Vivo. As per Gurman, users may be able to extend the edges of a cropped photo to include more background detail. This would include the AI filling in missing elements using simple zoom gestures.
Meanwhile, the Enhance feature is said to work exactly how its name suggests. The report claims it may automatically optimise photos by adjusting parameters such as lighting, colour balance, and overall clarity. It is claimed to offer improved results compared to existing auto-enhance tools.
The last feature Apple is developing is reportedly called Reframe. Gurman said it is aimed at spatial photography and will let users adjust the perspective of an image after it has been captured. This could allow for dynamic reframing of shots, particularly in photos that include depth information.
Apart from the new features, the report mentions that iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 updates could also bring an upgraded version of the existing Clean Up tool, improving object removal capabilities within images.
Despite Apple’s ambitions, the development of the advanced photo editing tools has faced setbacks. As per the report, internal testing has reportedly revealed reliability issues with both Extend and Reframe. Both of the in-development tools have reportedly not been delivering consistently accurate results. Consequently, there is a chance that the tech giant may delay or scale back these features depending on improvements to its underlying AI models.
