Will Apple 'leap' from iOS 18 to iOS 26?

Nearly eleven years ago, when Microsoft announced the upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, many people joked about Windows 9 and Microsoft's "inability to count" and even laughed at the Redmond company's clumsy naming for a long time. Now, this interesting scenario is likely to repeat itself with Apple, as the Cupertino-based company is said to be preparing a major 'overhaul' of its operating system naming.

According to the latest revelation from Bloomberg, on the stage of the WWDC 2025 event taking place on June 9, Apple will announce iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26 and tvOS 26 - a fundamental upgrade from the current versions of iOS/iPadOS 18, watchOS 12, macOS 15. The idea here is to simplify the naming and eliminate confusion when operating systems on different devices have different version numbers.

It's 2025, and Apple seems to be adopting the 'n+1' approach to its annual OS updates, similar to how automakers introduce new models. Samsung did the same in 2020 when it launched the Galaxy S20 series, the successor to the Galaxy S10 that launched the year before.

As usual, Apple declined to comment on these rumors. However, a major naming change seems appropriate given the rumors that the company is preparing major design changes for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and other operating systems. If true, this would be the biggest naming change in iOS history. While iOS has undergone significant naming changes before (iPhoneOS to iOS, and iOS to iPadOS on tablets), its versions have followed a strict numbering sequence. Now, Apple seems ready to make a big jump—from iOS 18 straight to iOS 26.

Jessica Tanner

Update 30 May 2025