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Macs don't have numbers, they're just the "new Mac" and are differentiated by their year in the About this Mac. View attachment 2514822
Yeah, strange post for someone to suggest "iPhone 26" to streamline naming, when Apple could just go with "iPhone". Mind, a few of us have been saying for years this is what they should do. "mini" also killed any sales that would have had, those plus and Max names too are silly, just sell a basic and a premium line in a few sizes each. No need to complicate it.
 
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This is such a mess! Whats the sudden Infatuation for the number ‘26’.
Calling iPhones "iPhone 26" would be silly, but the reason operating systems are moving to version 26 is for 2026, the year. Numbering them for the year they are going into and getting all systems onto this consistent numbering scheme. iPhones could just stick the year of release in Settings and call it a day.
 
Time to sell my iPhone 20 Pro Max.I’m retroactively rebranding mine to be more in line with current names.
 
There’s an easy solution to that: Just require an iPhone 27 for iOS 27. It would be completely logical.
Wouldn't it past some certain executives to do just that. And double down by having the latest iOS be cosmetic changes and bug fixes (i.e "magical"), yet somehow require the latest hardware and best chips...
 
I'm good with this but I'd rather it be the year launched rather than the next year. I know my MacBook Pro launched in 2020. I don't want to deal with wondering if I have to subtract a year or not.
 
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IMO iPhone 17 = iPhone 25 > iPhone (2025) > iPhone (A19). It starts to get confusing for the general consumer to make links to things like release year or CPU and time of purchase. iPhone 25 is a bit easier as it doubles as a version number and a release year for those that know.
 
Would certainly make iPhones feel older faster. Using a iPhone 13 when the iPhone 16 is out doesn't feel so bad. Using the iPhone '21 in 2025 makes it feel older to me.

Hope they don't, but I wouldn't put it past them.
 
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Macrumors is losing their mind thinking about Apple changing a name to put some lipstick on a pig while Google introduces Android XR and an avalanche of new advanced capabilities.

Something doesn’t add up.
 
I believe they’ll do something similar to MacBook naming: iPhone Pro Max (2025), running iOS 26.
Yea, I don't know why the software number not being exactly the same would ever matter. Hardware generation is a fixed thing for that device. But it can run new software for many years.

At some point that iPhone Pro max (2025) will be running iOS 30. I think the writing out the Year is a nice distinction. Consumers really shouldn't be all that concerned with the marketing name of the OS. My family never know what version they are on. I can only confirm when they respond to my text saying they don't see the new emoji. lol.
 
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Naming it iOS 26 when it’s released in 2025 isn’t confusing at all. /s

This will be Tim Cook’s legacy of innovation at Apple.
Yeah, it is kinda stupid to pick the year after it releases. They should use the year it first ships in. The versioning tied to year numbers makes perfect sense, but Apple found a way to mess up even the simplest of naming tasks.
 
It's the same as "model year" with cars. Next years model starts to sell before the end of previous year to keep it feel new throughout the year.

In September we'll launch 2026 model year for macs, iphones, ipads, operating systems, ... All consistenty "26"
IPhones today cost more than I paid for my first car.
 
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I don't mind googling to see what year my iPhone was released. I'm just really allergic to large version numbers. That's why most companies just start over with a new line, so they can also reset the numbers. Version numbers were to get people excited - wow - the iPhone 3 is coming out! Who can get exited about an iPhone 27? To me the small numbers trumps consistency. A Vision Pro 2 is way better than a Vision Pro 26.

Also, Apple can't always stay on a yearly cadence with hardware. So would they just tell you it's an iPad Air 27, even if the hardware hasn't changed?

OK, quick check everyone - what's the current version of the browser you're running? Don't know or care? That probably is because it's greater than version 5.
 
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We can only hope they drop the numbering scheme and go by year or generation like they do for their other products. The numbering has been off since the iPhone 5 (the iPhone 4s was the 5th iPhone).
 
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