There will be no iPhone 26 this year

Although Apple is expected to announce the renaming of its operating systems at the WWDC event in June, the iPhone 17 will likely keep its name and not change to iPhone 26.

Apple will announce the rebranding of its operating systems at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this June, according to tech expert Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter. However, it is highly likely that the iPhone 17 series will not be part of this plan.

Accordingly, Apple's operating systems including iOS, macOS, iPadOS and visionOS will now be numbered according to the current year. The operating system group will carry the next year's number, a similar practice to the naming convention of automakers.

Gurman said the change could give Apple more flexibility in releasing regular, minor software updates. In addition, marketing-wise, the move would make the company’s software appear more “ahead of the curve.”

However, the iPhone 17, expected to launch later this year, will most likely not be renamed the iPhone 26. This is different from Samsung when it "leapt" straight to the Galaxy S20 line for 2020.

The next iOS operating system will likely have a new name, iOS 26. Photo: Apple .

Experts say consumers are very aware of the iPhone naming convention and such a sudden change could be "shocking".

Additionally, Apple doesn’t want its phone names to be tied too tightly to the years, as that could make an older iPhone quickly obsolete in the minds of users. This is a psychological factor that can have an impact on the user experience, according to Gurman.

Apple’s renaming of its operating systems is part of a broader rebranding plan. The company is redesigning all of its operating systems to provide a more consistent experience across the platforms that make up the Apple ecosystem. Reports suggest the new operating systems will have a similar look and feel to visionOS, which was developed for the Apple Vision Pro augmented reality glasses.

Gurman also believes that the name change will help Apple shift the spotlight at WWDC 2025. By emphasizing major software improvements, attendees will likely focus less on how Apple is falling behind in artificial intelligence (AI).

Both Samsung and Google — Apple's two biggest competitors in the US smartphone market — offer much more powerful AI experiences on their devices.

Whether there is a new name or not, the iPhone 17 series is expected to have design changes and come with 12GB of RAM as standard.

Source: https://znews.vn/se-khong-co-iphone-26-trong-nam-nay-post1557720.html