3 days ago
Apple reportedly ditching traditional OS version numbers in favor of year-based naming with 'iOS 26' debut
In a major branding shift, Apple is expected to overhaul its operating system versioning by aligning it with the calendar year—starting with 'iOS 26,' 'macOS 26,' and 'watchOS 26'—according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. This change will reportedly be announced at Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.
The move means Apple will likely skip conventional sequential updates such as iOS 19 or macOS 16. Instead, all of Apple's major platforms—including iPadOS, tvOS, and visionOS—will adopt the unified '26' label, signaling a broader effort to simplify and synchronize the company's versioning across its ecosystem.
The new naming convention won't reflect the actual release year, but rather the year the OS is intended to represent. So, iOS 26, for example, will debut in late 2025 but remain the flagship version through most of 2026—a practical shift, given Apple's fall release schedule.
In addition to the naming update, Apple is preparing sweeping user interface redesigns across all platforms. Inspired by the futuristic design cues of visionOS introduced in 2024, the UI refresh will include a sleeker look and new interactions. One notable feature in the pipeline: a renewed attempt at offering Mac-style multitasking capabilities for the iPad.
While many consumer-facing platforms moved away from year-based naming in the early 2000s, enterprise and productivity software—including Linux distributions, Windows Server, and Microsoft Office—have continued to embrace the format for clarity and consistency. Apple now seems poised to follow suit, marking its biggest versioning shakeup since the transition from macOS X to macOS 11 in 2020.
