Apple has several product lines, and two operating systems: Mac OS and iOS. (Or perhaps three, with Apple Watch OS being the third.) The operating systems have different origins, different designs, and, interestingly, different marketing. Releases of iOS and WatchOS are numbered; releases of Mac OS are named.
Why this distinction? Why should releases of Mac OS be graced with names ("Panther", "Tiger", "Mavericks", "El Capitan") and other operating systems limited to plain numbers?
The assignment of names to Mac OS is a marketing decision. Apple clearly believes that the users of Mac OS want names, while the users of iOS and WatchOS do not. They may be right.
The typical user of iOS and WatchOS is an ordinary, non-technical person. Apple iPads and iPhones and Watches are made for "normal", non-technical individuals.
The typical user of Mac OS, on the other hand, is not a normal, non-technical individual. At least, not in Apple's eyes. Apple may right on this item. I have seen programmers, web designers, and developers carry Apple MacBooks. Software conferences are full of software geeks, and many carry Apple MacBooks. (Only a few carry iPads.)
If this is true, then the audience for Mac OS is different from the audience for iOS. And if that is true, then Apple has an incentive to keep Mac OS separate from iOS. So we may see separate paths (and features) for Mac OS and iOS (and WatchOS).
When Apple releases a version of Mac OS without a cute code name, then we can assume that Apple is getting ready to merge Mac OS into iOS.
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