Apple is reportedly preparing a major change to its operating system naming convention, moving away from its traditional sequential numbering. According to a report from Bloomberg, the company may soon align the version numbers of its operating systems with their release years, starting with the next round of updates.
A Shift in OS Naming
Historically, Apple has incremented its OS versions by one with each major release—such as iOS 18 to iOS 19, or macOS 14 to macOS 15. However, sources suggest that Apple will now match the version number to the year following the release. For example, the updates expected this fall could be named iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26, reflecting the year 2026.
Why the Change?
This move is intended to simplify and unify Apple's software branding. Currently, the version numbers across Apple’s platforms are inconsistent—watchOS is at version 11, while visionOS is at version 2. Aligning all platforms under a single, year-based numbering system would make it easier for users and developers to keep track of the latest releases.
What to Expect at WWDC
The official announcement is expected at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote on June 9. Alongside the potential renaming, Apple is rumored to be planning a significant user interface overhaul across its platforms, aiming to deliver a more cohesive experience for users of iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro devices.
If implemented, this change would mark a notable shift in how Apple presents its software updates, making the versioning system more intuitive and consistent across its ecosystem.
