Apple’s new OS naming could make ‘iPhone 17’ sound even weirder

Just when it seemed like the internet had finally moved on from obsessing over Apple’s iPhone naming conventions… here we go again. iOS 19 vs. 26 To be fair, I don’t actually hate today’s report that Apple will rename its operating systems to reflect the release year. Or rather, the following year. Cars do it. Samsung does it… OK, that’s pretty much it. But it’s not that strange. Once we get past the initial awkwardness of jumping straight to iOS 26, skipping a handful of version numbers along the way, I’m pretty sure it’ll start to sound natural sooner rather than later. But if Apple really is moving in that direction, it only increases the pressure to do something about iPhone naming. The idea of iOS 26 running on an iPhone 18 already sounds disconnected, and a few years from now, that mismatch is probably going to feel even worse. Perfect timing? I wrote recently about how Apple’s rumored move to replace the “Plus” variant with an “Air” model could give it a perfect opportunit ... Read full article.