Apple has started replacing macOS names with version numbers in several ways

Among Apple’s slate of software platforms, macOS is an outlier in having its own brand name (e.g., macOS Golden Gate) instead of just a number. But some new signs indicate Apple may be shifting toward number versioning.

Apple is moving support documentation away from macOS version names, plus emphasizing ‘macOS 27’ for Golden Gate

Over the past day, Apple has updated a variety of its Mac-focused support pages to replace macOS version names with version numbers instead.

In several cases, switching to version numbers instead of names is the only change on each page.

Here are a few examples:

this page on Spatial Audio, where “requires macOS Sequoia or later” now reads “requires macOS 15 or later”

this page on Wi-Fi passwords, which changed “macOS Ventura” to “macOS 13”

this page, where “macOS Monterey” was replaced with “macOS 12”

There are several more that have switched to numbers instead of names too, alongside broader content updates.

Interestingly, Apple also seems to be leaning more into numbering with the just-introduced macOS Golden Gate.

... continue reading