- A new report from Bloomberg says Apple will change how it makes up its operating systems
- The change will be to match the year so not iOS 19 but iOS 26
- It is said that the change will also be to iPados, macos, watchos, tvos and visionos
With only 12 days, until Apple’s WWDC 2025 starts on June 9, 2025, with an opening of keynote speaker, rumors and reports warmly come about what the tech giant could announce. Given that it is the Worldwide Developers Conference, we expect CEO Tim Cook and a number of leaders to lead us through the next generation of platforms.
Until a new report, we fully expected iOS 19 and iPados 19, the next generation of MacOS with a unique place in California, giving it a name and new versions of Watchos, Tvos and Visionos, all of which go up with a number.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark GurmanHowever, Apple may throw a curveball and ditch the concept of naming the software with the next generation number. The report says that instead of revealing iOS 19, the successor to iOS 18, Apple will introduce iOS 26.
“The next Apple operating systems are identified after years rather than with a version number,” the report reads. Alongside iOS jumping to 26, it seems that Apple may be rolling iPados 26, MacOS 26, Watchos 26, Tvos 26 and perhaps most shocking, Visionos 26.
It seems that Apple’s change, at least as described in this report, is aimed at cleaning up confusion and establishing uniformity in its branding. The new Name Convention was rumored to arrive with a far-reaching design update called “Solarium”, which is expected to affect all of Apple’s Platforms IOS, Ispados, MacOS, Watchos, Visionos and Tvos included.
I am personally excited about the more transparent design update for iPhone’s software and the rest of the platforms; It will revive and make the whole experience feel a little cleaner, at least I think so. However, this new Name Convention is a little more confusing to me – Apple seems to be taking an approach similar to car manufacturers and naming its software for the coming year.
It feels a little confusing on the paper, but I’m curious to see how Apple explains this on stage. It could also signal that the now-delayed AI-driven Siri country mark in Apple Intelligence does not land until 2026-even it really is anyone’s guess for an arrival.
Apple would not be the first company to take a jump of faith with its name conventions. Samsung jumped from the Galaxy S10 family to Galaxy S20And Microsoft has been trying this for a few years and then returned to generational numbers.
However, the new naming strategy for iOS, iPados, Macos, Tvos, Watchos and Visionos will not be the only news or changes. We expect the Redesign across platforms, plus the potential for a dedicated gaming app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, a redesigned translation app and some improvements to the Apple Intelligence feature.
Of course, this all had to be taken with a grain of salt for now, but we are reporting live from Cupertino Come 9 June 2025 to break down everything Apple announces on WWDC 2025 – so hold on to Techradar.
