The next Apple operating systems will be identified by year, rather than with a version number, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That means the current iOS 18 will give way to "iOS 26", said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is still private. Other updates will be known as iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26.
Apple is making the change to bring consistency to its branding and move away from an approach that can be confusing to customers and developers. Today's operating systems - including iOS 18, watchOS 12, macOS 15 and visionOS 2 - use different numbers because their initial versions didn't debut at the same time.
A spokesman for the California-headquartered Apple declined to comment.
The company will announce the shift at its Worldwide Developers Conference on 9 June. The branding will accompany fresh user interfaces across the operating systems - an attempt to ensure a more cohesive experience when people move between devices. The new look, dubbed Solarium internally, will include tvOS, watchOS and parts of visionOS.
As part of the changes, Apple plans to give the iPad a more Mac-like experience, potentially making it more useful for office work. And the company is opening up its AI models to third-party developers, letting them tap into the underlying technology used by the Apple Intelligence platform.