Next product names

[BijouMan]

Since Apple has decided to pull a Samsung and name its operating systems after the year they are made for (starting with 26), it stands to reason to believe that the next device models from each product line will be named as follows:

• iPhone 26
• iPhone 26 Plus
• iPhone 26 Pro
• iPhone 26 Pro Max
• Apple Watch Series 26
• Apple Watch Ultra 26
• iPad (2026)
• iPad mini (2026)
• iPad Air (2026)
• iPad Pro (2026)
• Apple Vision Pro (2026)
• Apple TV 4K (2026)
• AirPods 26
• AirPods Pro 26
• AirPods Max 26

It also stands to reason to believe that the next Apple-designed SoCs and SiPs will be named as follows:

• A26
• A26 Pro
• M26
• M26 Pro
• M26 Max
• M26 Ultra
• R26
• S26

 

[HouseLannister]

No.

There was a reason to unify the OS names because they now all have a common design language.

But Apple revs their OSes every year. They do not want to rev their hardware like that. They can’t. We are still on M2 Mac Pros for crying out loud. There would be zero benefit of this naming scheme, because the numbers would still be out of alignment all the time.

Second, you just create a ton of confusion if next year I can update my iPhone 26 to iOS 27. It again creates more of a mess than it solves and 90+% of people won’t be able to tell you if the have a 2026 iPhone or a 2027 one.

So… No.

 

[sunapple]

I think "iPhone 16" is a stronger brand than any Galaxy number ever was.

 

[HouseLannister]

And remember: it's the Galaxy S25 or the Galaxy Fold 6 running OneUI 7 which is Android 15, paired with a Galaxy Watch 7. And don't forget the S10 tablet. They didn't make all their products end with a 25.

 

[BijouMan]

And remember: it's the Galaxy S25 or the Galaxy Fold 6 running OneUI 7 which is Android 15, paired with a Galaxy Watch 7. And don't forget the S10 tablet. They didn't make all their products end with a 25.

It would only make sense from a marketing perspective for Apple's iPhone to share the same number as its main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S Series. There could be people who somehow just impulse buy the Samsung since it has the higher number. When Microsoft was developing its second Xbox console, it knew that Sony's next console would be the PlayStation 3, so instead of calling it the Xbox 2, Microsoft called it the Xbox 360 in order to have the number "3" somewhere in the name.

 

[HouseLannister]

It would only make sense from a marketing perspective for Apple's iPhone to share the same number as its main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S Series.

If it's just the iPhone, that's fine. And for the holiday season, it will make the newest iPhone always appear +1 newer than the current Galaxy S-phone. The pushback I was giving was about renaming every product, including ones that only get updated once every 3+ years.

But I still see a problem of a large group of customers who are not the beta testers in this thread. The average people who download iOS 26 in the fall. Why would they buy an iPhone 26? They already have version 26. It creates some unnecessary confusion.

Mom, can we have iPhone 26?
No, we have 26 at home.

 

[BijouMan]

If it's just the iPhone, that's fine. And for the holiday season, it will make the newest iPhone always appear +1 newer than the current Galaxy S-phone. The pushback I was giving was about renaming every product, including ones that only get updated once every 3+ years.

But I still see a problem of a large group of customers who are not the beta testers in this thread. The average people who download iOS 26 in the fall. Why would they buy an iPhone 26? They already have version 26. It creates some unnecessary confusion.

Mom, can we have iPhone 26?
No, we have 26 at home.

Also, M7 to M11 have already been taken by the motion coprocessors that were used alongside the A7 to A11 SoCs.

 

[Cobold]

Also, M7 to M11 have already been taken by the motion coprocessors that were used alongside the A7 to A11 SoCs.

What’s the problem here?
One was the M7 Motion Coprocessor and the other one will be the M7 SoC.

Besides: no one, except us nerds here at MacRumors and other tech-sites give a single f*** about what an M5 SoC, an A18 or A19 is or even what even a SoC is in the first place.

So no, they won’t rename everything `26.

 

[BijouMan]

What’s the problem here?

There would be two chips both called M7. Apple is not going to reuse the same name for more than one chip.

 

[HouseLannister]

There would be two chips both called M7. Apple is not going to reuse the same name for more than one chip.

But they will reuse MagSafe for two completely different things.

 

[tim_apple]

There would be two chips both called M7. Apple is not going to reuse the same name for more than one chip.

Of course they will.