“The press has already dubbed this year’s [Apple smartphone] model ‘iPhone 5S.’ Most experts see a narrative in which Apple only produces a major upgrade every other year, and in between we get the ‘S’ model,” Ken Segall, co-writer of Apple’s “Think Different” ad copy, writes for Observatory. “This is the model that delivers only incremental improvements.”
Segall writes, “Whether that’s Apple’s intended message is unknown. But personally, I wish Apple never created a ‘4S.'”
“First of all, it’s an awkward moniker whether you speak it or read it… More important, tacking an S onto the existing model number sends a rather weak message. It says that this is our ‘off-year’ product, with only modest improvements,” Segall writes. “The simplest path is to give each new iPhone a new number and let the improvements speak for themselves. If anyone wants to say that the 7 isn’t as big a leap as the 6, that’s their business. Attempting to calibrate ‘degree of innovation’ in the product name seems like a needless (and self-diminishing) exercise. I think it’s safe to say that if you’re looking for a new car, you’re looking for a 2013 model — not a 2012S.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: BINGO! It’s as if Apple is naming iPhone models solely for their own internal inventory purposes, just so they can keep track of which model is which, with no regard for how the iPhones are perceived by the rest of the world – the media, the customers, etc. – outside One Infinite Loop.
The “S” doesn’t stand for “Speed,” it stands for “Stupid.” Yes, we know it’s the same case design; we know the “S” version is the one you make the big margins on; we get it. Call it the “S” internally if you must, but don’t be so engineer-ish that you insist on calling it that on the box, too!
Before the iPhone 4S, everyone was waiting for the “iPhone 5.” When the 4S debuted, disappointment reigned. All because of the name. Nearly everything else about the phone was an improvement or a new addition (Siri).
You either leak “no iPhone 5” to a credible outlet in order to tamp down anticipation beforehand or you name the damn thing “iPhone 5,” even if you don’t think it worthy, and be done with it. The former is far preferrable to the latter for integrity’s sake, but doing neither signals a worrying degree of tone deafness. Managing the media, not to mention peoples’ expectations, is part of your job now, too, Tim. – MacDailyNews, “New Apple iPhone 4S fails to wow investors, fans,” October 4, 2011
There are plenty of numbers in the universe. Infinite, actually. Don’t worry, Apple, you won’t run out. Wonder what the mood would be right now had Apple simply named “iPhone 4S” the “iPhone 5?” – MacDailyNews, “Apple underwhelms with iPhone 4S,” October 4, 2011
It’s not about sales figures or the model’s success (as long as “iPhone” is in the name, it will be a success), it’s about setting a tone. In this case, with the “S,” Apple sets a tone that they are just making an incremental update (read: losing their innovation edge) which allows the media and competitors to claim, wrongly, that other companies have surpassed Apple. Why gift the naysayers with the opportunity, Apple?
Ken should change his name to Stupid.
Yeah, the guy who co-wrote “Think Different” is “stupid.” He obviously knows nothing about branding, brand names, marketing, etc.
Nice. Very nice.
I’d have to call this a draw.
On the one hand we have the ‘Think Different’ guy. On the other, Steve Jobs himself.
A. How high do you take the numbering scheme? iPhone 52 sure sounds aged and tired..
B.Even if Ken’s idea of merly dropping the “S” takes hol with same product cycle, from this point forward the upgrades issued in even-numbered years simply would become known as the minor incremental upgrades.
For better or worse, it may be better to drop all numbers and just call it iPhone, just as they’ve done with iPad.
Oops, I meant the even-numbered updates issued in odd-numbered years still would have the negative undertone…
Shows what you know idiot. Ken named the iMac, was responsible for some of the best advertising campaigns Apple has ever had.
He is spot on BTW the S stands for stupid.
HELL NO…
Apple should name it iPhone 7.
1) because it would be the seventh phone
2) so the number syncs with the latest iOS7
3) the inexpensive model (if it happens) to be named 5s or 6
Everyone needs to STFU you have the Porsche and Porsche S models to. Ithe iphone 4S if named 5 and looked the same as the 4 would have been a shut down of the internet in hell breaking loose.
I agree wholeheartedly with birdy. The sh*tstorm would have been 100 times greater if Apple had unveiled the iPhone 4S and named it iPhone 5 instead. People would have lost their sanity because it looked exactly the same as the iPhone 4: “it’s called the iPhone 5 and it looks exactly the same as the last one! Apple is doomed!”
birdy: iPhone 5 was a ‘shut down of the internet in hell breaking loose’!!! It’s only perception! The FsckTard Wall Street analcysts paid ZERO attention to the actual iPhone 5. They only ranted propaganda useful to their desired outcome, that being STOCK PRICE MANIPULATION.
Naming the iPhone 5S the iPhone 6 won’t create any more illusory damage than that invented by the TechTards than that created by the iPhone 5. Sad, but likely to be the case.
BizTards will be BizTard,s will be more impressed by an iPhone 6 name than an iPhone 5S name. Not a big deal.
I seriously doubt that naming a handset with a suffix is going to discourage buyers.
If you are coming off a 2 year contract you are most likely leaving a 4S (or older) behind. It doesn’t matter that the 5 may have been an incremental improvement over the 4S (it was more than that), or that a 5S may only be an incremental improvement over the 5. The 5S will be a large improvement over the 4S.
By using the S suffix Apple holds expectations in check. Let’s face it, the media (and fanboys both) always EXPECT a self-levitating, cold fusion powered product in Apple’s next release.
Apple has always been an under perform/over deliver Company. Its success at over delivery makes it more and more difficult to satisfy fringe expectations. No need to imply more with a model number.
Nah. I bought my 4S the first day it was available. In October 2011. I didn’t upgrade to the iPhone 5 and will not upgrade to a 5S. I’m waiting for the larger iPhone. And yes Greg, it is coming. But unfortunately for me and Apple shareholders that may not be until next year. That is a huge mistake. Very, very, costly.
I’ve always felt that adding an ‘S’ behind every second evolution of the iPhone to be particularly retarded. It gives off the wrong image. It’s retarded basically because most consumers associate the ‘S’ with SHIT. And image is everything in the consumer market.
Most consumers associate the ‘S’ with SHIT. Is that right? Where did you gain your insight? Did you conduct a massive survey of most consumers? Perhaps you commissioned one? Pretty nonsensical there BLN.
“most consumers associate the ‘S’ with SHIT”
Well that’s fucking retarded.
You get what you are looking for…
The other point of view would be that Apple refined the product, the fit and finish is better, the kinks of production have been worked out, the device is over all a higher quality device, it will have fewer problems AND last longer. 😎
Are you the guy that buys a newly redesigned car? You’re just asking for trouble, and end up being disappointed.
I associate the S iPhones with having the “bugs” worked out of them and a speed bump. That being said, I have only ever owned S phones (3GS, 4S) and therefore may be biased. 🙂
Frankly, if I had any influence at Apple (I don’t), I’d drop the alpha/numeric designation altogether and just refer to the next iPhone as The New iPhone (7th Generation).
A “Generation” moniker implies nothing in the way of improvements other than it came after the prior release. It would then be up to the consumer to determine whether their 5th Generation iPhone (coming off a 2 year contract) needed upgrade, without the expectations of an evolutionary (vs revolutionary) improvement in the New iPhone. This would force an examination of benefits of the new model.
It would also deny the idiot talking heads at CNBC (and here) a platform to compare model numbers vs comparing capabilities.. Gee, what a concept.
I strongly disagree- numbers are valuable and should be reserved for big form factor changes.
I agree with you. Calling it a 6 instead of a 5S would not fool anyone. Previous S upgrades, while bringing only small hardware upgrades, are necessary as Apple uses their single flagship model. It gives consumers upgrades more frequently, therefore more chances for people to switch without waiting for 12 months, and for those that could not switch to 5 because of contract timing, it provides an incentive to upgrade without waiting for the 6.
What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So iPhone 5S would, were it not iPhone 5S called, retain that dear perfection which it owes without that title.
I though thee “S” stood for Siri.
I thought the “S” stood for Steve – as in Steve Jobs. A way of honouring him. Just think(ing) different. 🙂
The off years still add a lot to the iPhone except changing the style and look of the device. Why do people have a Problem with this
I disagree. I feel that an incremental update to an existing model is a better way to go. The pressure to “innovate” at an insanely-increasing speed is getting out of control. The word is losing its meaning. People need to remember that progress is made on two separate fronts – the hardware and the software. Sometimes these updates are in sync, and sometimes not. My only wish is that Apple stays true to their values and doesn’t give into the pressure to go faster, faster, faster. Solid and reliable – that’s what I want in my devices.
I ENTIRELY agree. Listening to the ignoramus blahblahblah from Wall Street TechTards makes zero sense.
However, this is a marketing question.
We already live in an age when actual, factual 4G phone technology is available NO WHERE ON THE PLANET, not apparently until this December in New Zealand, of all places.
Therefore, why not make the analcysts all happy in their delusions by simply NAMING it the ‘iPhone 6’. The number of improvements that will be included will be well beyond any change list in an incremental update of Chrome or Firefox. It’s just a number. It’s just a perception.
Does Canada not have 4G networks on Bell and Rogers?
He was talking true 4G not the half assed 4G we have now.
Rogers, Telus and Bell all have the same 4G as AT&T in the USA.
I’ve been taking my information from the ever-evolving 4G page at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G
Recently, the editing of the page has been fast and furious as actual 4G approaches. Here is what it currently says about Canada:
Telus and Bell Canada, the major Canadian cdmaOne and EV-DO carriers, have announced that they will be cooperating towards building a fourth generation (4G) LTE wireless broadband network in Canada. As a transitional measure, they are implementing 3G UMTS network that went live in November 2009.
Meanwhile, I see that New Zealand’s turn-on date has been moved up:
4G will be live in parts of Christchurch in May, and parts of Wellington in August/September 2013.
It has become increasingly more difficult to sort out what is 4G the-marketing-term and what is 4G that actually matches the defined standard specification. LTE Advanced is going to fit the standard at 1 Gb/s download and 500 Mb/s upload. It’s not clear when any of the carriers will implement it. But the general consensus is that the companies are aiming for the end of 2013.
Seeing as dumbass Google VERSION JACK Chrome every frickin’ three months, why not increment iPhone versions with every actual major update!
iPhone 6 in 2013!
It’s a perceptual game. Make the Analcysts happy. Make the Apple fans happy. All at the same time! 😀
I agree with you MDN. Perception matters. Greatly. Apple does things so well that this one seems to be such an obvious mistake.
I really don’t care what my iPhone is called.
Un-effing-believable. What difference does it make what they call the iPhone as long as they can sell over 55 million of them to move Apple’s share price up a little?
One size does not fit all. This time around, with lower expectations, including evolutionary rather than revolutionary design, I’d go for the Reality Distortion designation of iPhone 6. “It’s a whole new iPhone!”
Just call it The New iPhone like they did with the iPad so hopefully after so many iterations in the future people stop counting and just call it an iPhone.
The bottom line is that the current iPhone 5 is what the iPhone 4S should have been. The iPhone 4S should never have existed. Imagine the buzz that could have been created had the current iPhone 5 followed the iPhone 4: bigger screen, thinner, lighter, Siri, etc. it would have been seen as a HUGE leap forward….
They iPhone 4S was the biggest selling smart phone until the 5. The 5S will be bigger than the 5.
Apple should be careful if they name the next phone the iPhone 5S looks to much like “SS.” BTW FYI the next phone would be the 7th gen not the 6th gen.
Correct, but the 6th year of iPhone.
True but who in the world names their products like that? The iPhone 4 got its name because it was the 4th iPhone.
The Galaxy SIV is basically an “S” version of the SIII. Samsung didn’t get much grief.
Apple appears to have more integrity, hence the “S” versions.
It doesn’t matter what Apple names their new phone. Everyone out there thinks it is a poor choice and Apple can’t please all of the plebes who know much better than Apple. Everyone will hate it and it will still sell like watermelon on a hot day.
Oh no! You said watermelon. Can’t you keep racism out of your rants?
s/
One other small point: 6 is “simpler” than 5S.
Ken Segal drove this point home with a framing hammer in his recent book “Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success”.
Steve Jobs believed that details matter, in the way that each piece of an intricate pattern contributes to its coalescence into an object of admiration by the mind. A neglected detail is a flaw.
And as small pieces go, the Name bestowed upon a work of architecture is its capstone, its primary representation in the cognitive world, the one element of marketing that is not flim-flam but a nod to deep instinct. Naming rituals are ancient, the origin of symbolism in fact; first practised long ago by none other than Adam, according to Genesis 2:19-20.
This article is BS, the 4S was not a minor upgrade the Only thing in the phone that didn’t change was the screen. I understand that because the outside didn’t change that people perceived it was just a minor upgrade but it was not it was a very big upgrade. Hence the reason the iPhone 4 could not run Siri the iPhone 4S could because of the heavily upgraded processor. Same reason why 3-D on maps won’t work on the 4 but it will On the 4S
“S” should stand for “Skip,” cuz I intend to skip it every time! No change in exterior physical design is, well, a deal breaker for me! The “5” was infinitely more satisfying than internal speed enhancements and software additions like “Siri.” The 5S will sell like hot cakes, just not to me!
Unless, dim bulb, your contract timing makes the S the choice.
Pretending that the majority of consumers are buying based on the opinions of the obsessions of New! Shiny! Brigade will only lead to dumb claims. Like yours.
“Dumb claims”? Can u form a thought without insulting other people’s opinions? I doubt it.
it doesn’t matter whether apple will change its name because there will be no innovation or WOW fact anyway. next iphone will add extra features which android phone already has them couple of years ago. I see that iphone sale is not great and doesn’t grow internationally. I don’t care its sale in US. US was supposed to be one of the bigger market before. it’s not anymore. I am sure that Apple will fail to sell tons of iphone in China. it will.
There you are Edward! Your mommy’s been looking for you! Oh Edward! I might buy her a leash.
… what’s your neck size?
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
-William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet
Bottom line: Apple will announce an improved iPhone, as they have done consistently since 2007.
What the media, analysts and Wall Street thinks about it is the untidy, open to interpretation, digital Wild Wild West …
Problem is the analysts have no sense of smell. They may lack other basic functioning equipment as well. That would handily explain why they are so consistently wrongheaded and why they later, never realize that they were that. And like weathermen they continue to collect money for their worthless opinions and admit to diddly squat. No wonder the gods disdain this sorry race.
Lieutenant Dan! “You got new legs.” 🙂
Wrongheaded, indeed.
I don’t know if analysts are naturally stupid or paid to intentionally manipulate.
Just a thought: Financial disclosure of analysts the same way we hold politicians accountable for campaign contributions.
And just then, I woke up …
Raise your hand if you’ve ever walked into a car dealership and asked to see a 2010 or a 2011 or a 2012.
No, you don’t do that, and so his analogy falls flat.
You probably go into a dealership and ask to see car by model name: (Honda) Civic or (Toyota) Camry. You know by exposure that the model year should be the current year or the upcoming year.
So the analogy is that you walk in and ask to see an iPhone/Camry. Based on options you want in your phone/car you may need the 4/DE or the 4S/LE or the 5/XLE.
Which means that Apple’s naming scheme works perfectly with an automobile shopping analogy.
And by the way, automobiles tend to be designed with only minor changes to their outward appearance between model years, followed at some point by a major redesign that gets marketed as such, pretty much like the 4 to the 4S followed by a redesigned 5.