Forget iOS 26, take a stroll through Apple’s ‘garden’ of OS code names for 2027

While we know the numbers of Apple’s upcoming operating systems–iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, etc.–Apple, like other companies, assigns code names to its products that are used internally for products in development. As noted by aaron613 on X, Apple is shifting to a mostly botanical theme for next year’s operating systems.

Aaron613 points out that Buttercup and Honeycrisp were first reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, while Orchid, Eclipse, and Lotus were first reported by @nicolas09F9.

Now that you know the code names, it’s time to play, “What! Does! This! All! Mean!” Is there a symbolic meaning to any of these names? What does a buttercup flower have to do with iOS and the iPhone? Is the next version of macOS being named after a California location known for honeycrisp apple farms? (It’s actually the official state fruit of Minnesota.) Will next year’s Apple Watch need to be stored in tree bark? And are we sure that “Lotus” for tvOS is referring to the national flower of India and Vietnam, and not the car?

Often, tech code names refer to something about the product or have a symbolic meaning (iOS 26’s codename was Solarium, which spoke directly to its Liquid Glass interface). But they can also have no hidden meaning, and people make one up after the fact. With this set of code names, it’s hard to infer any special meaning unless you’re actually working on these products and have inside info. I mean, Eclipse for visionOS 27 is kind of obvious, but the others aren’t.

But hey, at least they’re interesting, unlike the code names for the upcoming M5 MacBook Pro models, which, according to a report, are J714c, J714s, J716c, and J716s. Give me Buttercup anytime.