There is a chance that Apple will not put an iPhone 17 on the market the following month, but instead an iPhone 26. You should know this.
An iPhone 17 or an iPhone 26?
Apple recently chose not to mention the new version of the iPhone operating system iOS 19, but iOS 26. And also the new versions of the operating systems MacOS, iPados and Watchos have received the number 26. The new software versions will be available to the general public at the end of this year, so 26 (derived from 2026) is a logical number.
The number now no longer indicates the how many version of the operating system is it (because what is you in fact on that?), But in which year it became available. This way you can also see at a glance how old the software is and whether it is already time for an update. That would also be quite handy for the iPhone.
Almost nobody knows, for example, from the head of what year the iPhone 12 comes. You know that it is the 12th version of the iPhone, but again it will hardly help you. That is why it is not a crazy idea if Apple now gives his iPhones and other devices the number of the year in which they came to the market. The upcoming iPhone would therefore not be called the iPhone 17, but the iPhone 26.
Now or in a few years
Apple already has more or less a future naming problem. If the iPhone 17 appears this year, the iPhone 18 and in 2027 will be the iPhone 19. Only 2027 is the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, so does Apple want the iPhone of that year to be the iPhone 19? In any case, Apple did not chose that in 2017 at the iPhone’s 10th anniversary. There has never been an iPhone 9 because the iPhone X appeared instead.
So there seems to be a name change anyway, but for the time being it remains the question whether that is or in a few years. Apple will probably present the new iPhone series on Tuesday 9 June, so we will certainly know in about a month. Do you not want to miss anything from the upcoming iPhone event? Then register for our newsletter!