Apple’s best design update might be its simplified new naming convention

Apple’s finally making it easier to remember the name of its latest operating system. After naming its iOS sequentially from iOS 1 in 2007 to iOS 18 last year, Apple announced that it would now name its latest operating system after the current year.

What would have been iOS 19 is now iOS 26, since the system, which comes out this year, will be good through fall 2026. The new year-based names apply to Apple’s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and visionOS.

The rebrand brings Apple operating system names in line with the conventions of other industries, like automakers (the 2026 Ford F-150) and sports franchise video games (Madden NFL 2026).

And it’s also a smart branding play since it keeps things simple. The names of the company’s ever-changing hardware and software updates can become a jumble of numbers over time. By naming it after the upcoming year, knowing the latest iOS update is as easy as knowing the date.

The company made the announcement at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), confirming a Bloomberg report last month about the change. But what Apple didn’t say was that it will change what it calls its hardware. Its latest iPhone model is the iPhone 16, and the company hasn’t made any indication it’s rebranding the smartphone or other products to year-based names.

The care Apple takes in naming in products, services, and applications, though, mirrors the simple, intuitive design of its software and hardware. It’s meant to make sense, and competitors take notice. Dell this year adopted “Pro” and “Max” suffixes for its new laptop names, which Apple also uses in product names.