Nearly eleven years ago, when Microsoft announced that Windows 8.1 would be upgraded to Windows 10, people joked about Windows 9 and Microsoft not knowing how to count, laughing at the company's awkward naming scheme (which continued throughout Windows 10's lifecycle and continues these days). Now, Apple fans are about to eat their own words as Apple is reportedly preparing a massive overhaul to its operating systems' naming.
Bloomberg reports that on June 9, at WWDC 2025, Apple will unveil iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26, and tvOS 26, a radical upgrade from the current iOS/iPadOS 18, watchOS 12, macOS 15, etc. The idea is to streamline the naming and eliminate the confusion of having different OS numbers across the device portfolio.
Although the current year is 2025, Apple is adopting the +1 approach, similar to how car manufacturers release their new vehicles or how Electronic Arts updates FC (formerly FIFA). Samsung did the same in 2020, when it launched the Galaxy S20 lineup, the successor to the Galaxy S10, which was released the year before. Therefore, in 2026, expect the announcement of iOS 27, macOS 27, you get the idea.
Apple declined to comment on these rumors, like it usually does in most cases. However, a big naming change seems fitting in light of rumors about the company preparing big design overhauls for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and other operating systems. Should the rumor be true, it would be the biggest naming shakeup in iOS history. While iOS experienced big naming changes in the past (iPhoneOS to iOS and iOS to iPadOS on iPads), its versions followed the strict numerical progression. Now, however, Apple appears to be ready to make a leap and jump from iOS 18 to iOS 26.
Still, nothing beats the upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 2000.
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