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Do you think Apple will rename the iPhone in the near future?

myscrnnm said:
Not necessarily throwing away. If Apple is indeed moving towards a trend of prefixing products and services with "Apple" rather than "i", it's certainly a gradual one. The first instance was the Apple TV back in 2007, and now with Apple Pay and the Apple Watch. Clearly the "i" prefix is very well established, and like you said carries equity with it. The products are instantly recognizable.

But in a fast-moving sector like technology, you have to ask yourself when a brand has run its course and is old and worn out in public perception. Among naysayers, Apple and the "i" brand is a joke. Fandroids think that Apple is playing catchup and that anyone who owns at least one Apple product is "sheeple" or "iSheep". While this is clearly not the case, brand image is everything to a company that is as dedicated to design and user experience as Apple is.

Apple sees itself as a trendsetter. We've seen many companies over the past few years go through rebranding campaigns. Microsoft and eBay are key examples of a move towards simpler, more modern looking logotypes characterized by sans-serif and very thin typefaces. You could say Apple pioneered this with Myriad Pro for its product lines (MacBook Pro, PowerBook G4, iPod, et cetera). Now that everyone wants to go with that style, the only way for Apple to go is in the opposite direction, with a big, fat, all-caps typeface for the Apple Watch.

In terms of design philosophy, Apple is very similar to Mercedes-Benz in that respect. A new design element can come out on any product, regardless of where it sits in the pricing spectrum, and this trickles down to other products in the company's lineup (eg. the W201, the lowest priced Mercedes of its day, set the bar for design when the W140, the most expensive Mercedes, came out nine years later).
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Very well put. I think the Apple prefix instead of the "i" sounds more simple, classier, and higher end. "i" is really starting to feel cheesy.

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Phil A. said:
iTV was going to be the name but it's already trademarked in the UK by the main commercial TV broadcaster (and has been for decades) so they went with Apple TV instead
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Knowing how Apple is, I doubt they give a crap about the name of a UK television broadcaster when considering product names.
 
No doubt, but Apple has spent billions building mindshare on top of the "i" brand. Dropping it, even incrementally, wouldn't be trivial and may not even be possible. Apple could re-brand these things Apple Phone and chances are good that people would still call them iPhone.

myscrnnm said:
Not necessarily throwing away. If Apple is indeed moving towards a trend of prefixing products and services with "Apple" rather than "i", it's certainly a gradual one. The first instance was the Apple TV back in 2007, and now with Apple Pay and the Apple Watch. Clearly the "i" prefix is very well established, and like you said carries equity with it. The products are instantly recognizable.

But in a fast-moving sector like technology, you have to ask yourself when a brand has run its course and is old and worn out in public perception. Among naysayers, Apple and the "i" brand is a joke. Fandroids think that Apple is playing catchup and that anyone who owns at least one Apple product is "sheeple" or "iSheep". While this is clearly not the case, brand image is everything to a company that is as dedicated to design and user experience as Apple is.

Apple sees itself as a trendsetter. We've seen many companies over the past few years go through rebranding campaigns. Microsoft and eBay are key examples of a move towards simpler, more modern looking logotypes characterized by sans-serif and very thin typefaces. You could say Apple pioneered this with Myriad Pro for its product lines (MacBook Pro, PowerBook G4, iPod, et cetera). Now that everyone wants to go with that style, the only way for Apple to go is in the opposite direction, with a big, fat, all-caps typeface for the Apple Watch.

In terms of design philosophy, Apple is very similar to Mercedes-Benz in that respect. A new design element can come out on any product, regardless of where it sits in the pricing spectrum, and this trickles down to other products in the company's lineup (eg. the W201, the lowest priced Mercedes of its day, set the bar for design when the W140, the most expensive Mercedes, came out nine years later).
Click to expand...
 
Phil A. said:
iTV was going to be the name but it's already trademarked in the UK by the main commercial TV broadcaster (and has been for decades) so they went with Apple TV instead
Click to expand...

This. First, the watch doesn't have its own internet connection (I don't think it connects to wifi directly, correct), so iWatch would have been a little odd, since the i stands for internet.

And second, like this poster is saying, the brand "iWatch" would be a lot more difficult to secure the rights for in all the different countries than Apple Watch. There's probably an iWatch trademark existing already in many countries.
 
iPhone X is going to be too bad ass to miss altogether by dropping the numbers though...

My theory is that AFTER iPhone X, they will start naming it after animals like they did with OS.

They will NEVER kill the "i" in iPhone. It's iconic. I-conic!
 
I think at some point Apple will introduce 3 phones, small (4 inch), medium (4.7 inch) and large (5.5 inch) in the same chassis/casing and continue to do that every year simply naming it iPhone. How they will do this I don't know as it might mean dropping the last years altogether. Unless they introduce a 4 inch version to replace the previous years version in the same chassis.
 
Pez555 said:
I think at some point Apple will introduce 3 phones, small (4 inch), medium (4.7 inch) and large (5.5 inch) in the same chassis/casing and continue to do that every year simply naming it iPhone. How they will do this I don't know as it might mean dropping the last years altogether. Unless they introduce a 4 inch version to replace the previous years version in the same chassis.
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In the same case? Doubtful. In fact I think it's highly unlikely that Apple will be making a 4 inch device ever again. The 5C is likely the last gasp for that form factor.
 
Surf Monkey said:
In the same case? Doubtful. In fact I think it's highly unlikely that Apple will be making a 4 inch device ever again. The 5C is likely the last gasp for that form factor.
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There is still a market for it. Not everyone wants big phones. I'd wager that a lot of people would like to see a 4 inch iphone 6.
 
I don't think Apple is going to be changing the name of the iPhone line up anytime soon.
 
Pez555 said:
I think at some point Apple will introduce 3 phones, small (4 inch), medium (4.7 inch) and large (5.5 inch) in the same chassis/casing and continue to do that every year simply naming it iPhone. How they will do this I don't know as it might mean dropping the last years altogether. Unless they introduce a 4 inch version to replace the previous years version in the same chassis.
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lol. No. You cannot get away with coming out with the same design for the rest of eternity; not in today's market. Consumers are finally realizing how important design is to products, and they expect companies to come out with newer, better designs.

You may think the iPhone has reached its peak in terms of industrial design, but there will always be a way to make it better (slimmer bezels, thinner profile, non-protruding camera lens, more seamless case, the list goes on and on). Apple would be committing suicide by regurgitating the same design for the iPhone for the rest of the line's lifespan.
 
myscrnnm said:
lol. No. You cannot get away with coming out with the same design for the rest of eternity; not in today's market. Consumers are finally realizing how important design is to products, and they expect companies to come out with newer, better designs.

You may think the iPhone has reached its peak in terms of industrial design, but there will always be a way to make it better (slimmer bezels, thinner profile, non-protruding camera lens, more seamless case, the list goes on and on). Apple would be committing suicide by regurgitating the same design for the iPhone for the rest of the line's lifespan.
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I think you misinterpreted my post. I didn't mean keeping the same design forever...

I meant trying to move away from having 2/3 different designs (5c, 5s and 6) and just have a uniform chassis for all models but just with different screen sizes with updated models/designs as necessary.
 
myscrnnm said:
lol. No. You cannot get away with coming out with the same design for the rest of eternity; not in today's market. Consumers are finally realizing how important design is to products, and they expect companies to come out with newer, better designs.

You may think the iPhone has reached its peak in terms of industrial design, but there will always be a way to make it better (slimmer bezels, thinner profile, non-protruding camera lens, more seamless case, the list goes on and on). Apple would be committing suicide by regurgitating the same design for the iPhone for the rest of the line's lifespan.
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Not really. People also don't want change just for the sake of change.

Look up McIntosh products. Look up the Porsche 911. Both, essentially, look very very close to what they did 40 years ago. Both are very prestigous and expensive brands, yet are always in demand and people continue to buy them, even decades later.
 
Pez555 said:
There is still a market for it. Not everyone wants big phones. I'd wager that a lot of people would like to see a 4 inch iphone 6.
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Sure. There's still a market for lots of things that companies don't find viable to produce anymore. Doesn't really mean much.

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12vElectronics said:
Not really. People also don't want change just for the sake of change.

Look up McIntosh products. Look up the Porsche 911. Both, essentially, look very very close to what they did 40 years ago. Both are very prestigous and expensive brands, yet are always in demand and people continue to buy them, even decades later.
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Agree but I don't think Apple has quite gotten there yet with iPhone.
 
12vElectronics said:
Not really. People also don't want change just for the sake of change.

Look up McIntosh products. Look up the Porsche 911. Both, essentially, look very very close to what they did 40 years ago. Both are very prestigous and expensive brands, yet are always in demand and people continue to buy them, even decades later.
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Uh, what? The iMac looks nothing like the 1984 Macintosh, and 911 Classic looks nothing like the 991. Yes, they have similar design elements, but they are anything but the same design.
 
Phil A. said:
iTV was going to be the name but it's already trademarked in the UK by the main commercial TV broadcaster (and has been for decades) so they went with Apple TV instead
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finally somebody says it

I don't think they will phase out the i seeing as Apple is a smart company in regards to marketing and the "i" tag has been successful to where people many times put an "i" in front of anything and you know it's a reference to Apple. They won't change the name of iPhone to anything else. Only way that I can see them making a product named "Apple Phone" is if it was either 1.) a service, or 2.) a completely different device that isn't a cellular phone.
 
This

The iMac, iPod and iPhone are tattooed on consumer's lips. Staples. If Apple did change the names to _____, (they) would still be considered iPhone, iMac and iPod. iKnow people. iPhonography. iYii yiay!
 
Phil A. said:
iTV was going to be the name but it's already trademarked in the UK by the main commercial TV broadcaster (and has been for decades) so they went with Apple TV instead
Click to expand...

I don't think UK trademarks apply to the USA. In fact, in some countries (don't remember which) they couldn't use iPhone and had to market it as :apple:Phone because "iPhone" was already trademarked in those countries. Couldn't they have done the same thing?
 
myscrnnm said:
Uh, what? The iMac looks nothing like the 1984 Macintosh, and 911 Classic looks nothing like the 991. Yes, they have similar design elements, but they are anything but the same design.
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I said McIntosh, not Macintosh.

Show me another car that has the same lines 40 years later like the 911.
 
12vElectronics said:
I said McIntosh, not Macintosh.

Show me another car that has the same lines 40 years later like the 911.
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The Volkswagen Beetle had the same design for over sixty years. And that's besides the point. The iPhone 6 of 2014 has the same overall shape as the iPhone of 2007. Does that mean they are the exact same design? Just as Porsche has changed the headlights, the wheels, the bumpers, the spoilers, et cetera of the 911, so has Apple changed the screen size, home button, and case of the iPhone. I don't think a Porsche buyer today who wants the latest style is going to think a 996 is as good as the 991, and likewise a nostalgic buyer will take a 997 over a 964.
 
myscrnnm said:
The Volkswagen Beetle had the same design for over sixty years. And that's besides the point. The iPhone 6 of 2014 has the same overall shape as the iPhone of 2007. Does that mean they are the exact same design? Just as Porsche has changed the headlights, the wheels, the bumpers, the spoilers, et cetera of the 911, so has Apple changed the screen size, home button, and case of the iPhone. I don't think a Porsche buyer today who wants the latest style is going to think a 996 is as good as the 991, and likewise a nostalgic buyer will take a 997 over a 964.
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You're completely missing the point... nevermind
 
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