Unreleased iOS 10, OS X 10.12 Spotted: Build Numbers Confirm New Versions On The Way

Aaron Mamiit, Tech Times 12 June 2016, 08:06 am

The latest, yet unreleased versions of Apple's operating systems for mobile devices and desktop computers have been spotted in the wild by startup company Realm.

Realm provides a database that is run on more than 1 billion mobile devices. The company noted that, according to its anonymized user logs, its database is being operated on iOS and OS X builds that have not yet been unveiled by Apple.

Apple is widely expected to unveil iOS 10 and OS X 10.12 at the upcoming annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Both operating systems are new versions, and not upgrades to the existing models of the software.

Realm has spotted mobile devices running iOS 10.0 in the wild, with build number 14A262. This build number signals the version upgrade for the mobile operating system. For iOS 9, build numbers began with 13A, 13B, 13C and so forth.

For OS X, Realm has spotted computers running OS X 10.12, with build number 16A185. The desktop operating system will be a follow-up to Apple's OS X 10.11, more popularly known as OS X El Capitan. Similar to the iOS 10, the build number signifies a version upgrade and not simply an update to OS X 10.11 as OS X El Capitan build numbers begin with 15A, 15B, 15C and so on.

It should be noted that the continuation of the build number system does not coincide with the news that Apple will be rebranding OS X into Mac OS. However, it is also possible that Apple will be sticking with its build number system despite the rebranding, as build numbers are not really seen much by the general public.

Realm has also picked up a new version of Darwin, a Unix open-source operating system that is integral to the operations of iOS and OS X. Darwin receives an upgrade whenever a new version of Apple's mobile and desktop operating systems are released, and Realm has seen instances of Darwin 16.0.0.

More information regarding iOS 10 and OS X 10.12 will be revealed by Apple throughout WWDC 2016. There are a variety of ways for those interested to watch the live streams and videos of the event, including watching through the WWDC Live app on the Apple TV, through Safari on Mac computers with OS X 10.8.5 or later, via Microsoft's Edge browser on Windows 10 computers, through Apple mobile devices on iOS 7.0 or higher or by accessing Apple's live stream URL on the VLC video player.