Apple is planning a huge shakeup to its naming scheme for software updates. Bloomberg reports that this year’s iOS update won’t be called iOS 19 after all. Instead, Apple is planning to call it “iOS 26” as part of a new year-based naming strategy.
Here’s exactly what that means for all of Apple’s platforms …
iOS 26 (yes, really)
What this means is that at WWDC next month Apple will announce the following new software versions:
- iOS 26 (instead of iOS 19)
- macOS 26 (instead of macOS 16)
- iPadOS 26 (instead of iPadOS 19)
- watchOS 26 (instead of watchOS 12)
- tvOS 26 (instead of tvOS 19)
- visionOS 26 (instead visionOS 3)
Bloomberg explains that Apple is making this change to “bring consistency to its branding and move away from an approach that can be confusing to customers and developers.”
The branding alignment comes as Apple is also reportedly planning dramatic redesigns for all of its platforms. The goal seems to be to unify everything both in terms of naming and design.
9to5Mac’s Take
My first reaction to this news was confusion. The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense. It’s always been tricky to remember version numbers across Apple’s platforms, especially when the version numbers are close, but not exactly the same (think iOS 18 vs macOS 15 vs watchOS 12). Those numbers are just close enough to make you pause.
My second reaction to this news was: “Ok, so wouldn’t this year’s update be iOS 25, not iOS 26?” After all, the calendar currently says 2025.
Well, it seems that the model Apple is following is the same one that automakers follow. For example, the 2026 Toyota Tacoma will actually start shipping towards the end of 2025.
My final thought is wondering whether the iPhone names will follow suit. Might we get the iPhone 26 this fall instead of the iPhone 17? That doesn’t seem like a crazy possibility at this point.
My favorite iPhone accessories:
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