‘macOS Tahoe’ to be the name for Apple’s next macOS update, report claims

Apple will reportedly call its next macOS release macOS 26 Tahoe—branded simply as macOS Tahoe—according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, which will mark the first redesign of macOS since Big Sur in 2020.

According to a recent report, instead of continuing with its traditional incremental numbering (iOS 17 → iOS 18 → iOS 19), Apple plans to align all future version numbers with the calendar year. As a result, macOS will jump from macOS 16 to macOS 26, and this year’s update will carry the Tahoe name.

Since OS X Mavericks in 2013, Apple has used California-themed codenames—Yosemite, Monterey, Sonoma, Sequoia, etc.—for its desktop operating systems. “I’m told that the company has homed in on Lake Tahoe as its next moniker, making it macOS Tahoe. It’s a famous resort area and a vacation destination (and second-home site) for many Apple employees,” according to Gurman’s weekly Power On newsletter.

macOS 26 Tahoe is also expected to introduce a visionOS-inspired visual overhaul. In other words, many of the new UI motifs first seen in Apple’s spatial-computing OS will now appear across iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.