Apple operating systems need more than new numbering or a lick of paint

After half a decade of OS stagnation the company owes consumers desirable features and tangible benefits, not another PR stunt

Apple is reportedly changing both the numbering convention and the overall look of its operating systems this year. Is this what consumers were actually asking for, though? (Image: William Hook, Unsplash)

Apple’s WWDC 2025 event is now just around the corner and it seems that — contrary to what’s been happening for the last five years or so — there are some notable changes coming on the OS front: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the company is switching to a different numbering convention for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS and visionOS. New versions of every Apple operating system will now be named after the year following the one they are released in, as it’s traditionally been the case with e.g. the FIFA/FC games published by Electronic Arts or the NBA2K games published by 2KSports.

As a result, iOS 19 will now be iOS 26, macOS 16 will be macOS 26, watchOS 12 will be watchOS 26 and so on — a change that may initially confuse some people but, admittedly, makes sense for everyone involved. It will eventually be easier for more consumers than just us techies to know which version of Apple’s operating systems they are on, it will make the latest version of each OS seem like “fresh” software for longer periods of time and it will re-enforce the notion that these OSes are meant to work…