Apple is expected to switch the naming convention of its various product operating systems this year to have them reflect the year of release. However, macOS will surely still retain a moniker inspired by a Californian location and this year’s release is believed to be centred on Lake Tahoe.
The famous resort in northern California will lend its name to macOS Tahoe, which Apple seems all but certain to reveal at next week’s WWDC. The rich blue of Lake Tahoe’s water may serve as inspiration for an overhauled UI.
The tip comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg who wrote in his latest Power On newsletter that Tahoe is “a famous resort area and a vacation destination (and second-home site) for many Apple employees.”
Apple’s California-themed naming convention for its desktop OS started back in 2013 with macOS Mavericks, taking over from the big cat theme of previous versions. The last time the company overhauled the UI was over a decade ago with 2014’s macOS Yosemite. Tahoe looks like it could be one of the most significant macOS releases in recent history.
According to reports, we may see the first developer beta macOS Tahoe on or around WWDC taking place next week from June 9. It’s tipped to arrive with a file size of around 17 GB — about 2 GB larger than Sequoia.
There will also, of course, be those Apple machines incapable of running the new OS. Apple Insider is reporting that Intel-based Macs won’t support the update.
These are the specific models that may not get macOS Tahoe.
- 2017 iMac Pro
- 2018 Mac mini
- 2018 MacBook Pro models
- 2020 MacBook Air (with Intel chips)
The switch to a year-based naming convention (so, iOS 26, iPad OS 26, tvOS 26, macOS 26) to denote a 2026 release date — similar to how car manufacturers operate — is likely to simplify things a great deal for Apple’s users. But there’s still something nice about having a bona fide name each year. Tahoe seems like a very good bet but, based on some recently filed trademarks, Redwood, Skyline and Diablo could also be in the running.
Of course, we won’t have long to find out. Here’s our full preview on what to expect at this year’s WWDC.
