So, according to the report, iOS 18 will be succeeded by iOS 26. There will also be iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 – all reflecting the last two digits of the following year. We guess this makes more sense than calling it iOS 25 – as 2025 will nearly be up once this actually releases to the public.

The report says Apple is making the change in order to simplify its currently fragmented versioning system and ensure everything is consistent. Of course, nothing has been confirmed at this stage and there’s still a chance we do see iOS 19 arrive as expected.

Apple is expected to announce the new naming convention and a major visual overhaul that takes cues from the sleek interface of visionOS at the opening keynote of the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9.

The anticipated design refresh for iOS 26 could see a more modern interface with more dynamic elements and a cohesive visual language across all Apple devices. It could be one of the most significant updates for years, completely changing many of the system elements that have become commonplace over the past few years.

It’s unlikely that Apple will rename its hardware products, like the iPhone 17 that’s due later this year. That’s still likely to be called iPhone 17, despite the new software naming scheme. We can’t imagine Apple jumping straight to iPhone 26.

Opinion

Well, this certainly wasn’t expected.

My first reaction to this report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman was one of surprise – what an odd move this seems like? But, there is something smart behind it.

In the past few years, these iOS updates have become more than just a single release bringing all the announced features at once.

Many of them have introduced features throughout the whole year, and this move could be a way of tempering users expectations and giving the impression that features will arrive throughout the year, rather than all on iOS 26’s release date.