iPhone naming
The iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. that use Apple's iOS mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007. Since then, Apple has annually released new iPhone models and iOS updates. iPhone naming has followed various patterns throughout its history.
Nomenclature
Current naming style
iPhones are named with "iPhone" followed by a number, which denotes the iPhone generation, and sometimes a suffix (such as C, S, Plus, Pro, Pro Max). The current naming pattern is that "Max" (previously "Plus") indicates a physical larger iPhone model of the same generation (iPhone XS Max, 11 Pro Max, 12 Pro Max, 13 Pro Max). "Pro" indicates the higher end model (iPhone 12 Pro, 13 Pro). Currently, models with just a number (i.e. without a suffix) indicate the lower-priced iPhones (iPhone 11, 12, 13).
Previous naming style
"S" used to denote a slight upgrade (iPhone 3GS, 4S, 5S, 6S & 6S Plus, XS & XS Max), but it has since been dropped; iPhone XS and XS Max were the last models to feature the "S" (iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max instead of iPhone 11S, 11S Pro, 11S Pro Max). "C" used to denote the lower-priced and smaller sized iPhones (iPhone 5C). iPhone X (pronounced "10"), iPhone XR (pronounced "10R") and iPhone XS and XS Max (pronounced "10S") are currently the only iPhones to have been branded with roman numerals (X).
iPhones
34 different iPhone models have been produced:
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Timeline
Timeline of iPhone models |
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Source: Apple Newsroom Archive[1] iPhone 13 Mini
Models never made
No models called the iPhone 2, iPhone 7S, iPhone 8S, iPhone 9 or iPhone 11S were ever produced; however, iPhone 9 was the rumored name for the iPhone SE (2020).[2][3]
The 1st generation iPhone was colloquially known, retronymically, as the iPhone 2G, as the 2nd generation iPhone was the iPhone 3G. The iPhone 4 did not support 4G; the iPhone 5 was the first with LTE support.
References
- ^ Apple Inc. (2007–2024). iPhone News - Newsroom Archive. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ "Why was there no iPhone 9? Plus, what happened to the iPhone 10". pocket-lint.com. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Will Apple Ever Release an iPhone 9? Here's What We Know". gadgetadvisor.com. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.