Summary

  • The 7 October Reveal Day snapshot lists 1,615 applications and 481 applicants. It describes one stage of the process, not a final set of strings or an approval count.
  • Applicants may choose eligible replacement strings through 21 October, while ICANN says the public APS site will not update again until String Confirmation Day on 17 November.

The two clocks are the news. ICANN published its 2026 Round application material on 7 October; its Application Publication and Statistics (APS) site says it will not be updated until String Confirmation Day. Between those dates, applicants still have a defined window to switch from an original applied-for string to an eligible replacement already named in their application.

At the time of its latest statistics publication, 7 October at 15:41 UTC, APS reported 481 applicants and 1,615 applications. The figures answer different questions: an applicant can file more than one application, and an application is not necessarily the same thing as a unique string. APS displays an application with a designated replacement as two records on the Applications tab during this period, but counts it once in the statistics. Its totals for unique strings, variants, applications in contention and contention sets still showed “--”.

The contention-set list itself was published; the blank fields are aggregate counters, not proof that no contention exists.

The dates make the snapshot consequential. The Replacement Period runs from 8 October at 00:01 UTC through 21 October at 23:59 UTC. An applicant with an eligible designated alternative can notify ICANN through its application system. On 17 November, ICANN plans to publish the selected strings and an updated contention list. The Community Input and Objections Period is scheduled to begin that day and run through 16 March 2027.

This is a publication schedule, not evidence of a defect. APS says it is not real-time and will not update during the intervening period. That makes the “last published” timestamp part of the substance: readers should treat the October figures as a dated snapshot, not as a live account of which string each applicant currently intends to pursue.

There is also a count that needs careful labeling. On 22 September, ICANN said 1,616 applications had received payment and would proceed, out of 1,663 submitted. The 7 October publication reports 1,615. The releases describe different process stages, and the public material reviewed here does not reconcile the one-application difference. That gap does not establish a withdrawal, rejection or reporting error; it is a reason to retain the date and counting basis beside each figure.

An application list records applicant activity under rules set for the round. It is not an evaluation result, a contract, a delegation, or a survey of end-user preference. The next public milestone can make the evolving record clearer if it preserves the snapshot, explains the counting units and shows what changed.

Sources: 7 October Reveal Day announcement; APS statistics; APS Help; APS About; Applicant Guidebook, Module 3; Applicant Guidebook, Module 5; 22 September applications-proceeding announcement; 13 August round-closure announcement.