Apple is planning to give number 26 the upcoming versions of operating systems, but does this also have consequences for the iPhone?
Will there be an iPhone 26?
Apple is planning to change the numbering system for the next generation of software updates. Instead of iOS 19, which logically follows iOS 18, the update is called iOS 26. Apple 26 probably uses all platforms (the number stands for the coming year). In any case, it is less confusing than iOS 19, MacOS 16, Watchos 12 and Visionos 3. But what does this change mean for the iPhone?
If Apple wants to streamline the naming, it makes sense that future iPhone models follow just such ‘numbering based on the year. An iPhone 26 or iPhone 26 Pro that is launched with iOS 26 is more logical than an iPhone 17 that runs on iOS 26. Until that iPhone 26 has to be updated to iOS 27 or iOS 28 of course.
Naming iPhone 26
An ‘Numbering based on the year’ for iPhones makes it clear to consumers when an iPhone came on the market. The average iPhone user probably does not know what year its iPhone has come on the market. After all, there is no clear connection between the iPhone 14 and 2022, or the iPhone 16 and 2024. But an iPhone 26 is clear from 2026.
Apple already has more or less a future naming problem. This year the iPhone 17, in 2026 the iPhone 18 and in 2027 the iPhone 19. Only 2027 is the 20-year anniversary of the iPhone, so does Apple want the iPhone of that year to be the iPhone 19? Apple did not opt ​​for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone in 2017. There has never been an iPhone 9 because the iPhone X appeared instead.
Numbering for Macs
Apple also uses a ‘numbering -based’ numbering for its Macs, although not openly. The MacBook Air is just the ‌macbook Air‌, but if you look at the website, you can see that the latest model is the ‌macbook Air‌ (M4, 2025). iPhones could also simply be called ‘iPhone‌’ and be indicated in the same way.
However, there is a difference between the naming of Macs and the way in which Apple will name software updates. Macs are named after the year in which they are released. The software updates are mentioned at the launch after the coming year. iOS 26 in September 2025, iOS 27 in September 2026, iOS 28 in September 2027, and so on. However, the question is whether Apple wants to launch a ‌iphone‌ (2025) with ‌IOS 26‌.
Numbering for iPads
Apple can also opt for the iPad numbering. Ipads have traditionally used generations. The cheap iPad is for example the iPad (5th generation) and then (6th generation) and (7th generation) and so on.
More recently, Apple used chips to distinguish between different generations. There is the M2 iPad Air and the M3 iPad Air, together with the A16 iPad (11th generation) and the A17 Pro iPad Mini. Such a ‘on the chip -based’ naming probably does not work for the iPhone, because there are several iPhones that use the same chip. Apple should then do something like iPhone (A19), iPhone Air (A19), iPhone Pro (A19) and iPhone Pro Max (A19). An iPhone 26 is probably better for marketing.
Possibly Apple does not change the numbering of the iPhone at all and there will be no iPhone 26. Whether Apple is planning to streamline the names of devices in the future, may become clearer during the WWDC on June 9. In any case, we hear more about Apple’s plan to switch from iOS 18 to iOS 26. That may also provide some clarity about whether we can expect a similar change for the iPhone.