Apple's operating systems are now tied to the year. "Our releases for the fall that will power us through the coming year, 2026, will be version 26," Craig Federighi said on stage. Instead of iOS 19,

As Apple prepares to unveil iOS 19 at WWDC 2025 on Monday, several rumors have surfaced, including a potential new name for the operating system, a dedicated gaming app, and a virtual health coach. This could be a big update,

So as of 2025, all of Apple's OSes are named after the year they'll mostly cover. So after iOS 18 comes iOS 26, and after watchOS 11 comes watchOS 26, rather than iOS 19 or watchOS 12, as we initially assumed. The one small exception is macOS 26 Tahoe, which still gets its California-inspired name alongside its number.