Apple's macOS 26 to Be Reportedly Named After California’s Lake Tahoe

Apple is expected to preview its 2025 OS releases at WWDC 2025 which kicks off on June 9.

Written by Shaurya Tomer, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 2 June 2025 11:57 IST

Highlights

macOS 26 is reported to be named macOS Tahoe this year
The name is inspired by Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains
Apple is said to switch from iteration-based names to year-based ones

Apple's macOS 26 to Be Reportedly Named After California’s Lake Tahoe

Apple's current macOS firmware is named macOS Sequoia, after California's National Park

Photo Credit: Apple

Apple is said to have settled upon a name for macOS 26 — the next iteration of the Mac operating system (OS) — ahead of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 on June 9. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the Cupertino-based tech giant will ship macOS 26 with the moniker ‘Tahoe', after Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The place reportedly serves as a vacation destination for many Apple employees, which could be one of the reasons behind its selection.

macOS 26 Could Be Called Tahoe

Almost every year since 2013, Apple's product marketing team picks a California-based location's name as the theme for the next major release of macOS. The first example of this is Mavericks, a surfing destination just outside of Pillar Point Harbor which was chosen for version 10.9. Last year, the company settled upon macOS Sequoia, borrowing the moniker from the Sequoia National Park.

As per Gurman's claims in the weekly Power On newsletter, macOS 26 will be dubbed macOS Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is claimed to show “the reflection of the sky and surrounding mountains”, a feat that could be similar to the redesign which Apple is reported to have carried out for its latest OS releases this year.

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However, it isn't the only change to the nomenclature which Apple is expected to be announcing during this year's developer conference. Reports indicate that the tech giant could shift from an iteration-based strategy to an year-based one when it comes to the naming of its OS updates. Major releases will reportedly be known by the year they are released instead of a version number. This potentially means iOS 19 will be known as iOS 26, macOS 16 as macOS 26, and so on and so forth.

Previous reports also suggest that macOS 26, along with iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, will come with “glassy” effects and new visual system elements. These are aimed at delivering a more cohesive experience across devices and ensuring that other operating systems align with visionOS in terms of visuals.