Apple's Big OS Rebrand, OnePlus Embraces AI, and Samsung's Next Folds—Your Gear News of the Week

Confused by Apple’s naming conventions? You’re not nan only one. Bloomberg reports that this twelvemonth astatine WWDC, Apple plans to denote a wide overhaul of each of its operating systems. That includes renaming them to beryllium much consistent. Starting this year, Apple will reportedly statesman denoting each OS type for each merchandise by year, alternatively of by version. Confusingly, it will commencement pinch nan next year, alternatively than this twelvemonth (just for illustration cars). So nan versions we'll spot astatine this year’s WWDC will not beryllium iOS 25, but alternatively iOS 26, watchOS 26, and truthful on, successful spot of iOS 19 and watchOS 12.

The move is reportedly portion of a larger push toward a cohesive personification acquisition crossed platforms. The overhaul could encompass everything from updated icons, apps, buttons, and a caller creation language, and it’s expected to beryllium cosmopolitan crossed each nan operating systems. Apple’s fundamentally elemental and irresistible personification interface is simply a halfway portion of nan company’s DNA, truthful it will beryllium absorbing to spot really customers respond to a large redesign (hopefully amended than nan Apple Photos redesign). We’ll find retired astatine WWDC, which kicks off connected June 9 astatine 1 p.m. ET. —Adrienne So

OnePlus Succumbs to AI

After a ray smattering of features erstwhile it launched the OnePlus 13 successful January, OnePlus is now fresh to spell each successful connected AI for its phones. Its attack is rather akin to what Nothing introduced a fewer months agone connected nan Nothing Phone (3a) series: a dedicated AI fastener connected nan broadside of nan phone, though this 1 replaces nan original OnePlus Alert Slider.

Dubbed nan Plus Key, you tin customize it to trigger circumstantial apps aliases shortcuts connected nan phone, pinch an interface that looks almost precisely for illustration Apple's Action Button. By default, it launches AI Plus Mind, a strategy that will prevention whatever's connected nan surface truthful you tin callback it later. The thought is that you'll property it erstwhile you spot an advertisement for a performance while browsing, aliases an arena invite—pressing nan Plus Key will prevention nan applicable info successful nan companion app, and nan app will extract adjuvant info to create a almanac arena connected your behalf.

The Plus Key and AI Plus Mind will debut first connected nan OnePlus 13s, a telephone launching successful prime markets this June; it's not coming to nan US. Later this year, nan AI features will rotation retired to nan OnePlus 13 series, pinch different devices to follow. OnePlus says it's actively moving connected much features for illustration AI VoiceScribe, to record, summarize, and construe calls and meetings; AI Translation, to consolidate each translator capabilities into 1 app; and AI Reframe, to set nan creation of your shots pinch generative AI.

Samsung's Next Folding Phones are Coming

Samsung is rumored to denote its adjacent procreation of folding phones sometime this summer—the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7—and nan institution officially confirmed this successful a blog post announcing nan rollout of nan One UI 8 beta program. One UI is nan sanction of Samsung's Android layer, and type 8 is based connected nan upcoming type of Android 16.