Apple has declared a widespread reorganization in the naming, or, to be precise, numbering, of its operating systems. They are no longer numbered according the number of versions each has undergone but according to the year. Well, next year, that is to say.
That gives us iOS 26 on this year iPhones, macOS Tahoe 26 on Apple computers, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 round out the set. In the coming years, the figures will increase or decrease in unison, and it will be simple to determine whether any Apple gadget has the most recent release of its software update or not.
The new numbering is an obvious simplification of the previous scheme used by Apple which had iOS 18 simultaneously with watchOS 11 and visionOS 2. The change was announced by Apple in the keynote speech at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), taking place over the week. It does not totally come as a shocker; Bloomberg announced towards the end of May that Apple was considering the move.
