Apple’s iPhone naming has, from 2008’s iPhone 3G, been a hodgepodge of hits and misses.
Over the years, iPhone naming has had its ups and downs. There were the awkward names like iPhone 3GS and iPhone XS Max, and then there were strong industry-defining names like iPhone X. Based on the latest rumors, Apple appears to be in the early stages of moving away from an annual iPhone naming cadence altogether…
Last year’s flagships [iPhone XS / iPhone XS Max / iPhone XR] were the most confusing from an iPhone naming perspective… Consumers are now routinely mispronouncing or misidentifying iPhone names and it’s easy to see why: iPhone XS Max doesn’t exactly roll off one’s tongue. A similar issue will be seen if Apple ends up going with “iPhone 11 Pro Max.” People are increasingly saying “the new iPhone” or “the biggest one” when referring to the latest flagships.
There are subtle clues that suggest we may be approaching the point when Apple will do away with the annual iPhone naming cadence altogether. This wouldn’t mean that Apple would just go with “iPhone.” Instead, Apple would still need a way to distinguish iPhone models with different sizes and capabilities. In such a case, one likely option would be:
• iPhone Pro (iPhones containing the most capability)
• iPhone (the middle of the road option for the masses)
• iPhone mini (the iPhone containing the smallest screen and fewest features)
MacDailyNews Take: Almost perfect, but we contend that “Air” is a more compelling name than “mini.”
As we wrote back in mid-August:
Starting this year, if Apple wanted to properly name the iPhone, they should do it as shown below. People could then simply say they have the “iPhone Air,” the “iPhone,” or the “iPhone Pro.”
K.I.S.S.
• 5.8-inch iPhone Air (2019)
• 6.1-inch iPhone (2019)
• 6.5-inch iPhone Pro (2019)
Going forward, simply follow the template (display size, iPhone Air/iPhone/iPhone Pro, year):
• 5.4-inch iPhone Air (2020)
• 6.1-inch iPhone (2020)
• 6.8-inch iPhone Pro (2020)