Apple To Announce iOS 26, Not iOS 19, At WWDC 2025: Report
The latest leak suggests that Apple will be announcing iOS 26 rather than iOS 19 as the possible successor of the iOS 18 operating system at the WWDC 2025 event next month.
Apple is planning a major shakeup to the names of its operating systems this year. The next major iOS update from the Cupertino giant will be called "iOS 26" and not iOS 19, according to a Bloomberg report.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 next month, the company will make an announcement as it looks forward to a software overhaul extending to all its devices, Bloomberg reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.
The report suggests that the operating systems from the tech giant will now be identified by year and not by version number. This means that the highly anticipated successor of the current iOS 18 will not be called 'iOS 19'. It will ultimately give way to all-new 'iOS 26,' insiders said on the condition of anonymity, since the plan is said to be "private".
WWDC 2025: What to expect?
The latest leak suggests that Apple will announce iOS 26 at the WWDC 2025 event, which takes place from June 9-13. Similarly, the company will announce new software versions for all other products.
While iOS 18 will be succeeded by iOS 26, the company will unveil macOS 26 instead of macOS 16, iPadOS 26 rather than iPadOS 19 and watchOS 26 (not watchOS 12). Besides these, tvOS 26 will be introduced and not tvOS 19, along with visionOS 26, instead of visionOS 3.
Possible Reasons Behind The Changes
The Bloomberg report states that these changes are being brought in to bring "consistency to its branding". This will allow the company to shift away from its approach, which might confuse the customers and developers. The latest operating systems from Apple, like iOS 18, watchOS 12, or macOS 1,5 have been using different numbers since the initial versions of these were not launched at the same time.
The new branding from Apple will accompany fresh user interfaces across all its operating systems. This is aimed at ensuring a cohesive experience for the users when they move on from one device to another. Dubbed as Solarium internally, the latest move in Apple will include all its operating systems.
Notably, other tech giants like Samsung and Microsoft have utilised this approach earlier.
In 2020, Samsung announced that it would rename its flagship Galaxy S series after its launch year and shift to Galaxy S20. Interestingly, its predecessor debuted as the Galaxy S10 in 2019.
Similarly, Microsoft shifted to this approach in 1995 when it rolled out Windows 95, followed by Windows 98 and Windows 2000.
However, a major difference here is that Apple will be using the upcoming year and not the current one. Going by this strategy, the next set will be carrying 27 monikers.
WWDC 2025: Dedicated gaming app
Earlier, it was reported that the company is planning a dedicated video gaming app for its smart devices, with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV set-top box expected to get this app later this year.
The tech giant is said to be planning to preinstall this app on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV set-top box. This will work as a gaming launcher and consolidate leaderboards, in-game accomplishments, along with other activities.
