No iOS 19: Apple jumps surprisingly directly to iOS 26
Apple is apparently faced with a fundamental change in name in its operating systems. Instead of iOS 19, the upcoming WWDC iOS 26 is to be presented. The changeover affects all Apple platforms and is intended to ensure more consistency in the ecosystem.
Radical change of name for Apple operating systems
Apple IOS 18.5 released about two weeks ago. However, internally you are already working on the next version. This is to be presented on the WWDC 2025 on June 9th. Apple apparently plans one of the most comprehensive changes to its operating system naming in the company’s history.
Because the revised iOS should not only differ from its predecessors with its new look with glass effects and floating menus. You also have special plans in Cupertino when designing the update. As from a report by Mark Gurman for Bloomberg the iPhone manufacturer will not present iOS 19 as expected, but will jump directly to iOS 26. This change should extend to all Apple operating systems. In addition to iOS, iPados, MacOS, Watchos, TVOS and Visionos should also follow the new name scheme.
Apple follows Samsung and Microsoft
The idea behind the changeover is supposedly the standardization of the version numbers across all devices. Apple is currently using different counts. In version 18, Watchos at 11, MacOS at 15 and Visionos only 2. Although we are located in 2025, Apple relies on a +1 approach, similar to automobile manufacturers who already provide their new vehicle models with the year of the following year. Gurman reports that Apple will announce this change during the WWDC’s opening keynote on June 9th. The technology group would follow a trend that other companies have already completed.
So Samsung 2020 named its flagship series Galaxy S20 (successor to the Galaxy S10) after the year of publication. Accordingly, in 2026 iOS 27, MacOS 27 and so on would be expected. The planned adaptation also reminds of Microsoft’s handling of Windows numbering. When Microsoft announced in 2014 that Windows 8.1 would follow Windows 10, there were numerous jokes about the “disappeared” Windows 9. Now there is the same situation at Apple if iOS suddenly jumps from version 18 to 26.
New name, new design
Apple has experimented with annual -based names in the past. In August 2007, the company introduced the IWORK ’08 and Ilife ’08 software packages, followed by Ilife ’11 in October 2010. The new strategy would expand this approach to the nuclear operating systems. The renaming also fits rumors about a comprehensive redesign of the user interfaces of all Apple operating systems. The new look should be based on the aesthetics of visionos, with rounder buttons, the already mentioned glass -like surface and a simplified design language.
Comprehensive changes to the WWDC expected
The name change is only part of the innovations expected for the WWDC. Apple plans according to reports to give the iPad a more Mac-like experience and open its AI models for third-party developers. In addition, features such as a live translation mode for AirPods, eye scroll options for the Vision Pro and new AI-based health functions are expected. Another exciting element is a new digital calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil users and a new app especially for games on Apple devices. It remains to be seen whether Apple will also present new hardware on the WWDC. In the past, new MAC models have occasionally been presented.
