According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has decided on the name for macOS 26, the upcoming major revision of macOS that the company will reveal at WWDC25 next week. Gurman reports that the name will be macOS Tahoe, after Lake Tahoe in northern California.
Lake Tahoe is renowned for its deep blue water, which Gurman cites as an allusion to the user interface overhaul expected in the new macOS. Gurman also states that the Tahoe area is “a famous resort area and a vacation destination (and second-home site) for many Apple employees.” Not stated by Gurman, however, is that Tahoe’s recent tourism growth had made the local residents unhappy and concerned about the impact on the local environment.
Last week, Gurman reported that Apple is unifying the versions of its operating systems, using a method similar to car manufacturers, where the upcoming year identifies the latest version. Thus, instead of macOS version 16, Apple will adopt version 26.
Unlike iOS, iPadOS, etc., Apple adopts a name for macOS that’s based on a California location. The naming system started in 2013 with macOS Mavericks, which was version 10.9. Prior to that, Apple named the Mac operating system after big cats, such as Mountain Lion, Lion, and Snow Leopard.
In its marketing of macOS, Apple doesn’t mention the version number. For example, the current OS is referred to as macOS Sequoia, but its version (which is currently 15.5) is reserved for technical naming. So, while macOS 26 will make its debut at WWDC, it will be referred to throughout the keynote as macOS Tahoe, or whatever name Apple finally decides upon.