Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller introduces features of the new MacBook. (Photo : Getty Images/Stephen Lam)
Apple will rename its next version of the Macintosh computers' operating system from OS X to MacOS or macOS. The small change was first heard in 2015 at Worldwide Development Conference when Phil Schiller, Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing, hinted it in an interview with John Gruber.
A configuration file likewise mentioned macOS instead of OS X, and then MacOS when describing Apple's efforts for Earth Day 2016 on the company's website. It has been changed though, and the page has OS X. The change of naming scheme could be announced at WWDC in June.
In 2001, the operating system for Mac was also rebranded from "Mac OS X" to "OS X," the current operating system for Mac computers. Its direct predecessor was Mac OS 9. The word "Mac" was eliminated. Before Mac OS which was used from 1995 to 1997, with Apple licensing third party original equipment manufacturers to build and sell Mac clones, the platform was called "System."
Though Apple releases major versions of its platform running Mac, OS X seems like an outdated name compared to the Mac maker's other operating systems, especially in keeping X or "ten" for 15 years, Tech Crunch reported. OS X is now at version 11 aka "El Capitan" in line with the company's use of places in California since 2013 as the OS' moniker.
The Cupertino tech titan wanted to differentiate the device from the software. The iPhone OS was named iOS in June 2010, and it is running on iPads and iPhones up to the present. The tvOS that now runs Apple TV and the watchOS running Apple Watch are operating systems based on iOS.
With the advent of iOS 10 this year, which is expected to announce in Apple's WWDC event in June, the rebranding of the platform in Mac would make sense. The tech industry will talk about MacOS and iOS 10, instead of the more similar-sounding OS X and iOS 10.
The WWDC in June has no specific date yet, but it could be on June 13 to 17. The event's usual venue, San Francisco's Moscone West convention hall's availability is the week starting June 13, according to Computer World.
The following video features Mac OS X El Capitan.
