Your Next iPhone Update Will Jump to iOS 26

Apple's next software updates will use the year, not a version number

By
Jon Fisher
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Jon Fisher
Editor
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA-certified technologist with more than 10 years of experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
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Published on May 29, 2025 09:00AM EDT
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Apple News

Byte-Sized Brief

  • Apple plans to replace OS version numbers with years.
  • New naming starts with iOS 26 later this year.
  • The official reveal is coming at WWDC in June.

Apple is preparing a huge change to how it names its operating systems. Starting with releases coming later this year, the company will shift from version numbers to a year-based naming system, meaning your iOS 18 phone will update to iOS 26 instead of iOS 19. The same will happen across all platforms: iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.

The reason, according to Bloomberg, is to make the lineup feel more consistent; the current numbers are scattered due to the OSes originally launching at different times. The change will be announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June. While these new OS versions will ship in late 2025, Apple is using the upcoming year, not the current one, for the names. So, if this strategy persists, we can expect iOS 27, etc., the year after.

The Bottom Line

When you update your iPhone this fall, you'll receive iOS 26 instead of iOS 19. It's the same update, just a different name. Apple's doing this to streamline its system names and make things feel more consistent across all devices.

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