Rumor Replay: iOS 26, Apple Glasses, HomePad launch, more

This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: surprise Apple Glasses launch timing, iOS 26, HomePad’s arrival, and more. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.

Apple Glasses targeting 2026 launch

The dream of AR-powered glasses has long been an evident driver of other Apple projects, like ARKit and Vision Pro. But it’s only very recently that the idea of AI smart glasses has seemed to become a priority.

Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple is accelerating its plans for glasses, with a launch now targeted for late 2026. These glasses will “have cameras, microphones and speakers, allowing them to analyze the external world and take requests via the Siri voice assistant…[and] handle tasks such as phone calls, music playback, live translations and turn-by-turn directions.”

My takeaways

Brand new Apple products tend to be in development for several years, minimum, before they see the light of day. But based on Mark Gurman’s reporting, Apple Glasses are a very recent project for the company.

Perhaps Apple sees Meta’s success with Ray-Bans and doesn’t want to miss out on a potentially important market. Especially since these glasses could prove a key stepping stone to AR glasses.

My guess, though, is that the accelerated glasses timeline has a lot to do with AI. Such a transformative technology doesn’t come around often, and in time glasses could prove one of the best hardware vehicles for the power of Apple Intelligence.

iOS 26 and widespread Apple OS redesigns

Apple’s new OS versions this year have long been expected to emphasize greater cross-platform cohesion. But per Mark Gurman, the changes will be more extensive than previously thought.

First, the new design coming to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS will reportedly be a big part of tvOS and watchOS updates too.

Then second and more substantially, in coordination with these newly unified OS designs, Apple plans to make big branding changes. It plans to debut:

• iOS 26 (instead of iOS 19)
• macOS 26 (instead of macOS 16)
• iPadOS 26 (instead of iPadOS 19)
• tvOS 26 (instead of tvOS 19)
• watchOS 26 (instead of watchOS 12) 
• visionOS 26 (instead of visionOS 3)
• and probably homeOS 26 too

My takeaways

I’m happy to hear that tvOS and watchOS aren’t being neglected in the big redesign year. The branding changes come as more of a shock, but I’m quickly getting used to them.

I’m curious to see whether Apple still emphasizes the number as part of branding (e.g., ‘iOS 26’) or whether it will be more a reference point while phrases like “this year’s iOS update” or “the new iOS” are more commonplace.

In any case, with every new OS introduced, the disparate version numbers have become more of a problem. And with homeOS on the way, and fresh new designs coming, this seems as good a year as any to hit reset.

HomePad this year

Speaking of homeOS, the brand new HomePad device that was once expected to launch this spring got a timing update.

Mark Gurman reports that the new product could hit the market “by the end of this year.” He does add “at the earliest,” but the general tone of the update seems positive, with a 2025 launch looking likely.

My takeaways

When The New York Times reported earlier this spring that Siri’s delayed AI upgrades were expected to launch this fall, I became hopeful that we’d still get a HomePad launch this year too.

Things could always change, of course, but getting HomePad out before the holiday shopping season would be a win for Apple. And also make for a very expensive end of the year for me.

New ‘Games’ app for iPhone

We exclusively reported last fall that a new gaming-focused app was in development at Apple, and this week Mark Gurman said that it’s coming soon.

The new app will act as a launcher into games on your iPhone, plus absorb Game Center’s features and provide other brand new functionality.

My takeaways

Gaming has long deserved more attention from Apple, so I’m excited to see what a dedicated ‘Games’ app for iPhone will look like. Perhaps it’s just the start of a long-anticipated larger push into gaming from Apple.

What do you think of Apple adopting the iOS 26 name? Excited for Apple Glasses? Let us know in the comments.

Best iPhone accessories

• AirPods Pro 2 (now only $199, down from $249)
• MagSafe Car Mount for iPhone
• HomeKit smart plug 4-pack
• 10-year AirTag battery case 2-pack
• 100W USB-C power adapter for fast charging