New iPhones reportedly named iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus

Another apparent leak of Apple software is
revealing a treasure trove of information on new
iPhones and other products that the company is
widely expected to announce at its event on
Tuesday, September 12.
A leak of the iOS 11 "gold master" firmware, as
reported by 9to5mac and others, is said to reveal
everything from how the new iPhone will handle its
"notch" screen design, the possibility of an AirPods
update, animated emojis, and more.
CNET cannot independently verify the accuracy of
the reported leak, and Apple has not responded to
our request for comment. That said, the bulk of
the new info seems to come from iOS developers
Steve Troughton-Smith and Guilherme Rambo , the
same eagle-eyed coders who found a boatload of
information from the similar HomePod firmware
leak in late July.
Chief among the info that's been flooding Twitter
today is possible evidence of the names of the
new iPhones. According to Troughton-Smith, the
code indicates that the top-end iPhone will be
called "iPhone X," while the step-down models will
be called iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone X pic.twitter.com/OVLfhLxTdT
4:37 PM - Sep 9, 2017
67 732 933
2h Steve T-S @stroughtonsmith
…and we now have the name of all
three new iPhones. Are you ready for
this?
Steve T-S
@stroughtonsmith
iPhone X vs. iPhone 8
That somewhat upends the conventional wisdom of
the past several months, where the Internet
community had effectively dubbed the top-end
model -- presumed to have a big OLED screen and
facial recognition in place of the traditional Touch
ID home button -- as the "iPhone 8." And by that
logic, the stepdown models, presumed to
be traditional "S phone" upgrades we get in odd-
numbered years, were generally referred to as
" iPhone 7S " and "iPhone 7S Plus."
Now, however, it sounds like the iPhone 8 and 8
Plus will be the "conventional" iPhones, while the
iPhone X will be the hard-to-get super iPhone.
To some degree, it makes sense. The iPhones that
will be widely available to buy will have a
"newness" to them that often seems lacking in an
S model. And the iPhone X -- which is already
assumed to be in short supply, and possibly
delayed -- gets a cool designation that conveys
both "experimental" and "ten," the latter a nod to
the iPhone's tenth anniversary.
Replying to @stroughtonsmith
Let the "iPhone 'ex'" vs "iPhone 10"
argument begin.
4:43 PM - Sep 9, 2017
2 9
Javi
@Javi
Of course, "iPhone X" rekindles the pronunciation
snafu that dogged the OS X operating system for
years. Intended as "ten," it was widely
mispronounced as "OS ex" for years, to the point
that Apple rebranded its computer operating
system as simply MacOS in 2016.
That said, as strong as the reported iPhone X and
iPhone 8 names now seem, there are still other
contenders in the name game.
iPhone Pro
This nomenclature would bring the iPhone line into
a degree of symmetry with Apple's laptop and iPad
lines. MacBook, MacBook Pro. iPad, iPad Pro.
iPhone, iPhone Pro. OK, iPhone would be a bit
messier. After all, if Apple follows its normal
tradition, the existing iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will
remain on sale with $100 knocked off the price.
The iPhone SE, which was refreshed in March,
would presumably remain as the entry-level iPhone.
And the "iPhone 7S" and "7S Plus" (or, now, 8 and
8 Plus) would be in the line, too. (Or some of those
models could stay, or none of them; Apple could
totally shake things up.)
But "iPhone Pro" would be the first-ever use of
that name -- a nice nod to its "newness" -- and the
Pro designation as "king of the hill" would line up
with everyone's general understanding of Apple's
product lines. The only problem is that it somehow
sounds "unfun" -- like a phone that's destined for
you to toil away on work-related tasks.
iPhone Edition (or iPhone
Anniversary Edition)
When the Apple Watch first launched, the line
included a gold model that started for a cool
$10,000. The so-called Apple Watch Edition still
exists, but now in a ceramic body that starts at a
somewhat less stratospheric $1,249. With all signs
pointing to the high-end iPhone starting at prices
near $1,000 and going up from there, the analogy
to the luxury watch lines up nicely. Still, "iPhone
Edition" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
Just days ago, 9to5mac reported that scuttlebutt
at the IFA trade show had case makers locking
into the iPhone Edition name for the top model,
and iPhone 8 and 8 Plus for the stepdowns.
Alternately, teeing off the iPhone X/10 name, some
think Apple might go with something like "iPhone
Anniversary Edition." The problem with that, as
many have already suggested, is that Apple rarely
invokes nostalgia ( giant pricey coffee table books
notwithstanding). The company wants to keep
consumers focused on its view of an ever-better
future, not have them pining for some sort of
idealized past.
Just 'iPhone'
Apple could opt for stripping things back down to
ultimate simplicity. It did this in 2015 with its
newest, sexiest laptop losing the Air name and just
going with "MacBook." Likewise, the iPad Air 2 was
replaced by "iPad."
Two problems here. Just "iPhone" sounds more like
a baseline model, which doesn't help distinguish it
from a line that would likely retain one if not two
"Plus" 5.5-inch models -- even though they would
be stepdowns to this king of the hill model.
Meanwhile, "iPhone" has, as we say in the
business, terrible SEO. The default search terms
would immediately become something like "new
iPhone," "iPhone 2017" or "OLED iPhone." That's
the opposite of good branding.
Apple Phone
Steve Jobs was all about the iNames -- iMac,
iCloud, iTunes, iPhone and iPad. But starting with
Jobs' own introduction of the Apple TV and
continuing into the Tim Cook era, it's been more
about "Apple [insert generic product name here]."
With Apple Music, Apple Pay and Apple Watch
being the buzzwords of the day, would the
company ever hit the ultimate reset button and
walk away from the iPhone name?
My guess? Not in a million years. Throwing away
one of the most valuable brand names in history
just doesn't sound like a smart idea.
The wait will be over soon
Before the latest X/8 leak, my money would've
been on "iPhone Pro," even if it doesn't sound quite
right. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple pulls
something totally unexpected but familiar out of
the ether, not unlike the "HomePod" name. (We
generally called that product the " Siri Speaker" in
the rumor phase.)
And if you dislike the eventual name, just
remember to take a beat. Believe it or not, the
name "iPad" was originally mocked and derided, as
was the moniker for the Nintendo Wii. Both of them
went on to become smashing successes.
The good news -- regardless of the eventual name
-- is that the wait should soon be over. Expect Tim
Cook to be on stage on Tuesday, September 12,
proudly holding the new iPhone ______ high above
his head.
iPhone 8 rumor roundup : All the leaks, rumors and
informed conjecture about the 2017 iPhone.
Apple September 12 event : What we expect at the
big Tuesday iPhone (and more) launch.
Editors' note: A version of this story was originally
posted on August 13. It has been extensively
updated with new information based on subsequent
news reports.
Apple
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on the iPhone, iPad, Macbooks, OS X and much
more.
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