Apple may be on the verge of a big change in the way the company names its software updates — and it’s an approach that may seem familiar to anyone who’s familiar with Windows 95 or a ’57 Chevy. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Apple is rebranding its operating systems by using the last two digits of the upcoming year. So the current iOS 18 will be replaced by iOS 26, not iOS 19, when it arrives in the fall of 2025.
A representative for Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg cites unidentified sources who say that the additional updates will take the names iPadOS 26, MacOS 26, WatchOS 26, TVOS 26 and VisionOS 26. According to the sources, the hope is to bring consistency to Apple’s branding and remove confusion. Bloomberg notes that current operating systems, including iOS 18, WatchOS 12, MacOS 15 and VisionOS 2, use different numbers since they didn’t debut at the same time.
The company is expected to announce the name change and more cohesive user interfaces across devices at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9.
It’s noteworthy that the Bloomberg story made no mention of renaming iPhones. The current iPhone model is iPhone 16, which came out in February. The iPhone 17 lineup is expected to be announced in September, but there’s no word on it being renamed to iPhone 26 rather than iPhone 17.
The new numbering system would reflect the last two digits of the upcoming year, 2026, rather than the current year of 2025, similar to new automobiles. Samsung and Microsoft have both used year-based naming systems.
