14 DAY TRIAL // September 7 is going to be a pretty special day for Apple because it will introduce the iPhone 7, but in addition to the phone, the company is also expected to prepare the unveiling of the second-generation Watch coming with several hardware upgrades.
And while it’s not yet clear if the new Apple Watch will see daylight on September 7 or later this year, rumor has it that the device will include a change that only few people actually expected.
The Watch might be renamed to iWatch, according to recent reports, as such a moniker would make more sense for Apple, and at the same time, it could help the company make a bigger difference between the first and the second generation.
This is just a rumor for the time being, but it appears that Apple has been granted the iWatch trademark in Asia after the company originally applied for it in June 2013. But with the unveiling of the next watch just around the corner and with the company getting the trademark only recently, it’s not yet clear if Apple is ready to use this name for the very next model or it just wants to wait until the third generation to rename the device.
Why Apple couldn’t use iWatch from the very beginning
This isn’t the first time when Apple’s pondering calling its device iWatch, and this was believed to be the plan from the very beginning, actually. But Apple’s attempt to register the iWatch trademark and to use it for its first smartwatch hit a wall before the debut of the first generation, when a company called OMG Electronics tried to launch its own watch bearing the same name.
The only roadblock in OMG’s plan was that the company was seeking funds as part of a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, and after failing to raise the money that it needed to start mass production, it appears that the iWatch trademark became obsolete too.
And this is where Apple starts smiling once again, as the company is believed to now have full rights over the iWatch name, and if this is indeed the case, one of its future models could be renamed.
As far as the second generation Apple Watch is concerned, rumor has it that the company is aiming for two different versions, both of which would be similar in design to the existing model, but featuring important hardware upgrades, such as GPS support. An upgrade of the existing Watch is also planned, sources have said, in order to offer a cheaper alternative to the new generation.
It just makes sense
And yet, seeing Apple renaming Watch to iWatch simply makes sense for the company, especially because this new name aligns with the others in its portfolio, including iPhone, iMac, iPod, iPad, and others.
Furthermore, Cupertino seems to be seeking this cohesion in its product lineup, and this is one of the reasons it’s now renaming Mac OS X to macOS, in order to bring it in line with iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
And last but not least, rumor has it that Apple’s planning a new change of names, this time in the iPhone lineup, with the Plus model to become at some point (possibly even with the debut of this year’s model, but this is highly unlikely) iPhone Pro. This once again makes sense when looking at the MacBook Pro and the iPad Pro, but until now, none of this has been confirmed by Apple.