If the current speculation is correct, Apple’s 2026 operating system releases will follow a familiar path: they’re more likely to mimic the macOS Snow Leopard pattern set in 2009 than deliver a raft of snazzy new features.
Snow Leopard, if you recall, was intended to be a refinement of all the new technologies introduced in the preceding Leopard version of macOS rather than something with a ton of new features. (Though as AppleInsider recently noted, Snow Leopard did come with significant additions, including support for Exchange Active Sync.) While some industry experts are of the opinion that this isn’t what Apple needs, I disagree.
Apple is now in the position of shipping major updates for six different platforms every year — macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. And while most of these platforms share features and foundations, each is still somewhat distinct. Even iOS and iPadOS have begun to diverge significantly, and with the changes in iPadOS 26, this separation is even more apparent.
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