Everyone eager to get their hands on iOS 26 should mark September 15 on their calendar as the launch day. Based on years of previous Apple OS releases, that’s almost certainly when the new Liquid Glass user interface, plus all the other enhancements in the new iPhone operating system, will debut.
The same goes for iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26. All of these should go out on September 15.
But macOS Tahoe 26 might be different. There’s evidence to suggest Apple might wait an additional week or even more for that upgrade.
iOS 26 launch date: September 15 because …
Apple is a company of habits. There’s no better example than the iPhone, with new models coming out each September as regular as clockwork. And along with every new handset comes an iOS update, just not on the same day.
Still, there’s a definite pattern. In 2021, Apple launched iOS 15 on the Monday after it unveiled the iPhone 13. In 2022, it introduced iOS 16 on the Monday after the iPhone 14 event. In 2023, iOS 17 came out on the Monday after the iPhone 15 debut. And the pattern carried through into 2024, with iOS 18 reaching customers on the Monday after the iPhone 16 premiere.
This year, Apple’s Awe Dropping event is scheduled for September 9. The Monday after that is September 15, so that’s surely when iOS 26 will go out to iPhones around the world.
iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 launch date, too
Another Apple tradition is that all the company’s operating system upgrades generally go out together. This is because there’s so much interaction between them. New Apple Watch features might require the latest iOS version, for example.
That’s (mostly) what’s expected to happen this year. iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26 are all likely to launch on September 15.
macOS Tahoe 26 launch date?
It’s quite possible macOS Tahoe 26 will launch at the same time as all of Apple’s other operating systems, but there is evidence that suggests it might come out later.
For one thing, Apple has not made a habit of introducing major new macOS upgrades at the same time as iOS ones. True, they came out simultaneously in 2024, but the 2023 Mac upgrade came a week later. And in 2022 and 2021, the fresh macOS versions didn’t launch until October.
And that’s not all. In its most recent round of betas, Apple hinted to developers that it wants more time to work on macOS Tahoe 26. Each beta comes with a build number, with a letter attached to the end. The letters start in the middle of the alphabet and count down to “a.” Almost all of the betas Apple seeded to developers Tuesday end in “a” except for macOS Tahoe. It ends in “b.”
iOS 26 launch day announcement coming soon
Another long-held Apple habit is to announce the release date for iOS upgrades when it launches new iPhone models. That means we can look forward to finding out the definite iOS 26 launch date during the Awe Dropping event scheduled for September 9.
That said, the iOS launch is almost certainly coming on September 15.
