Apple Inc. AAPL is reportedly preparing a rebrand of its software platforms by introducing a year-based naming system.
What Happened: At its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9, Apple could unveil the new strategy, reported Bloomberg on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
As per the report, the tech giant will replace the current version numbers like iOS 18 and macOS 15 with year-based names, such as iOS 26, macOS 26, and iPadOS 26.
The idea behind this is to simplify the naming process, which currently has some inconsistencies because of its varied launch dates.
Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Why It’s Important: In 2020, Samsung Electronics Co. SSNLF also made a similar move by launching the Galaxy S20 after releasing the Galaxy S10 in 2019.
Microsoft Corporation MSFT also did this back in 1995 by naming its operating systems after their release years like Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 2000.
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Although in this case, Apple is taking a slightly different approach by using the upcoming year instead of the ongoing one. For example, the next iOS update is expected to launch in September 2025, but will name named iOS 26, the report added.
Price Action: Apple’s stock edged up by 0.10% during Wednesday’s regular trading session and saw a more notable gain of 3.49% in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Apple received a growth score of 32.99%. Click here to see how it compares to other leading stocks like Samsung and Microsoft.
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