Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: iOS 26 is official: Apple changes from version numbers to years for
its OS names

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2025 17:21:29 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/apps/ios-26-is-offic...

As part of an overhaul to its operating systems, Apple is making one of the
most significant changes ever to its OS branding, the company announced at
its WWDC 25 developer's conference. Starting in 2026, it will shift from the
current version numbers (macOS 15, iOS 18, iPadOS 18.5, etc.) to a year-based
system across its entire OS lineup. As such, the names will change to iOS 26,
iPadOS 26, MacOS 26, WatchOS 26, TVOS 26 and VisionOS 26 and follow that
pattern going forward. Future Mac operating systems will still retain their
California nature themes like Tahoe (the next version of macOS) and the
current Sequoia.

The change is understandable ΓÇö keeping track of Apple's latest updates was
getting to be a chore for users given the number of unique operating systems.
With the addition of the Vision Pro extended reality headset, the company now
counts six OS families with four unique numbering schemes.

Apple's iPhones will retain the current numbering system, however. Recall
that Samsung switched to a year-based Galaxy S phone naming system in 2020
after the Galaxy S10, with the current model being the Galaxy S25. That
doesn't seem to be in the cards (yet) for Apple.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/apps/ios-26-is-offic...
numbers-to-years-for-its-os-names-172129166.html?src=rss

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