Apple OS 26 (iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26 & macOS 26 “Tahoe”) — Public Release Sept 15
Apple announced that iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26 and macOS 26 (macOS Tahoe) will leave beta and be available to compatible devices on September 15. The update brings two headline changes:
- Liquid Glass design: A major UI refresh across Apple platforms focusing on translucency and fluid motion.
- Year-based versioning: Apple is aligning OS version numbers with release years (hence the jump to “26”).
Device compatibility (high level)
iPhone: iPhone 17 ships with iOS 26 pre-installed. Public update available for iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and second-gen+ iPhone SE models.
Apple Watch: watchOS 26 will be available on recent models, including Apple Watch Series 6 and later, Apple Watch SE (2nd gen+) and all Apple Watch Ultra variants.
macOS (Tahoe): Supported Macs include Apple Silicon Macs from 2020 onward and select Intel models (e.g., MacBook Pro 16″ 2019, Mac Pro 2019). For full compatibility, check the official Apple macOS page below.
iPadOS: iPad Pro (M4, 12.9″ 3rd gen+, 11″ 1st gen+), iPad Air (M2/M3, 3rd gen+), iPad (A16, 8th gen+), and iPad mini (A17 Pro, 5th gen+).
More info
Official Apple pages:
Looking for hardware? Search on Amazon: Apple Watch Ultra on Amazon.
Source: Apple announcements (Engadget article used for initial summary — link to Engadget RSS removed).
Which feature are you most excited to try — Liquid Glass UI or the new year-based numbering? Reply below!