Apple has announced a host of software design changes, including a new naming convention for all its operating systems. Previously, Apple’s operating systems were named by the number of versions released, but will now be identified by the year of release across the board.
During its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 keynote address, Apple announced iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26. All of the new operating systems will be released later this fall. The current operating system on the iPhone is iOS 18, and the next release would have been iOS 19 later this year, but Apple has now moved away from this naming convention.
Bloomberg first reported the operating system rebrand in May, and Apple has made the change to “bring consistency to its branding and move away from an approach that can be confusing to customers and developers.”
As part of the announcements at WWDC 2025, Apple also unveiled a new software design called Liquid Glass, which brings a fresh, translucent look across all its operating systems, arriving later this fall.
Image: Apple
