Apple to rename iPhone OS (and iPod touch OS) to iOS?

Seth Weintraub
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January 26, 2010
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Update: This is looking a little faker - we're moving it off the front page.

According to MDN, Apple is going to rename their mobile OS to 'iOS' and this would conceivably include the tablet's OS as well.  They show a questionable video that may or may not be real below that might be some of the marketing materials.  The move would make sense as Apple will have (at least) three different devices with the OS running on it.  We don't mind that name either.

As a commenter below reminds us, Cisco's router OS is called iOS which would complicate things. But, let's remember that Cisco also held the iPhone trademark as well.

Comments (20)

iStevo (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 5:12pm

makes a lot of sense, and the next device to adopt it will be the .... iTV, an Apple TV running iOS

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 5:21pm

not a chance in hell...Cisco's OS is called IOS...are you kidding me on a technology blog and not mentioning that?

Stets (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 6:36pm

Maybe something like TouchOS or TouchOSX (I believe this one was suggested by macpredictions).

iOS sounds pretty gimicky and really vague.

dan (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 5:25pm

i think it would be smart to have a centralized name, iOS 4.0? I think it would work just fine, it could be the name for the stripped down version of OS X that will be found in the iPhone, iPod Touch, the Slate, and the Apple TV

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 5:25pm

Hmmmm 1080p footage ... doesn't seem like this was filmed on an iPhone. Though it does seem very plausible.

Matt | January 26, 2010 - 5:37pm

Well, there's shaky-cam footage, so it has to be true.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 5:49pm

This would be completely ridiculuous after the iPhone trademark hoopla in 2007. What next? Rename the Airport product line to Catalyst?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 5:51pm

This would be completely ridiculous after the iPhone trademark hoopla in 2007. What next? Rename the Airport product line to Catalyst?

Helvetica | January 26, 2010 - 6:00pm

If true, it would indicate the name of the tablet will indeed begin with "i" and not with "Apple".

Slantsixx (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 6:38pm

What if iOS is in the tablet's name? Remember when the MacBook air came out? They had banners that said "There's something in the air."

Apple pretty much created the "i" revolution, and everyone else is imitation. I like Cisco, but as far as I'm concerned, they can suck it.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 6:41pm

look how off that "i" is... totally faked.

John Spaulding (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 6:55pm

No way in hell this is going to happen! Sorry apple but IOS is my life. This is fake

CCIE #25143

John Spaulding (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 6:58pm

No way is Apple taking this one. Sorry apple but I live in IOS all day long. Pick another name..

CCIE #25143

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 7:09pm

You know your certification is a big deal when you put it in your sig and have your certification number along with it.

STFU #3254

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 7:15pm

Wow be nice!

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 7:16pm

Wow be nice!

André (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 7:02pm

iOS kinda sounds like IRS. Taxes! Taxes! Taxes! (In a Ballmer kind of voice)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 7:07pm

i think it is the the name of the tablet like macintosh was both.
this is the ios or the io for short.
input output
etc

police (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 7:13pm

you know I had not thought of that---it's true though, Macintosh was the device and the os name. they were intertwined. And Steve does view this as some kind of revolution equal or superior to the original launch of the mac.

fireman (not verified) | January 26, 2010 - 7:23pm

actually macintosh was the device which ran on system 1 (unnamed) remember system 7 etc?
OS8
Mac OS9
OSX

so the mac really is hardware not an os. Mac OSX really only became necessary after iPhone OS.

Naming convention aside iOS makes sense though as long as it replaces OSX...imho