Apple renames its operating systems

Version numbers now match the year, but not the current one.

Apple has announced a sweeping change to how it names — or, rather, numbers — its operating systems. Instead of being numbered by how many versions each has had, they are now named based on the year. Well, next year, to be exact.

So we have iOS 26 coming to this year’s iPhones, and macOS Tahoe 26 for Apple’s computers. iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 complete the set. In future years, the numbers will tick up together, making it easy to figure out if any Apple device is running the latest version of its software or not.

The new numbering is a clear simplification of Apple’s prior system, which included iOS 18 at the same time as watchOS 11 and visionOS 2. Apple announced the change during the keynote address at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which runs throughout the week. It doesn’t come entirely as a surprise; Bloomberg reported in late May that Apple was planning the change.

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