14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is expected to take the wraps off three iPhone models next month, and right now, most of the press call them iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, and iPhone 7s Plus.
And while there are reports that the iPhone 8 might launch as iPhone X as iPhone Edition since it’s an anniversary model, everyone expects the more subtly-revised lineup to be part of the “S” revamp that typically comes one year after the debut of a new generation.
But according to Apple blogger John Gruber, that won’t be the case, as the company has been considering giving up on the “S” designation entirely and could instead go for simpler names, like iPhone, iPhone Plus, and iPhone Pro (for the OLED model). If Apple wants to stick with numbers for each generation, then the new devices could launch as iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 8 Pro, he believes.
Major upgrades for this year’s S models
The main reason for this is that the S lineup prepared for this year includes too many changes as compared to its predecessor to be called this way. In the past, S models came with one breaking upgrade, but instead were very similar to the previous models, and that won’t be the case with this year’s iPhones.
If existing rumors are true, then the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus (or whatever they’ll be called) will come with a glass body allowing for wireless charging, along with improved cameras and other revisions.
“I also think that the ‘7S’ name would contribute to the notion that Apple’s ’S’ phones are only modest updates, when the truth is that the S phones tend to get the bigger technical improvements,” Gruber was quoted as saying.
The new naming strategy makes even more sense when looking at rumors regarding the 2018 iPhone lineup. Next year, the three iPhones will be even more similar to each other, as they’ll all make the transition to OLED displays, and there are reports that Apple could even get rid of one of the models to stick with just an iPhone with the size of the upcoming iPhone 8 and a Pro SKU featuring a bigger screen.